
Glass V^iO 
Book Jm^ 



^ 



*f 



THE WORKS 



OF 




WASHIIGTOI IRVING. 



NEW EDITION, BEVISED. 



VOL. VIII. 
ASTORIA. 



NEW-YOEK : 
G. P. PUTNAM & COMPANY, 10 PARK PLACE. 

1855. '* 



ASTORIA 



OR, 




AIECDOTES OP AI ENTEKPRISE 



BEYOND THE 



KOCKY MOUNTAINS. 



BY 



WASHINGTON IRVING. 



AUTHOR'S REVISED EDITION. 



COMPLETE IN ONE VOLTIMK. 



NEW-YOEK : 
G. P. PUTNAM & COMPANY, 10 PARK PLACE. 



IRo 









D W 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1849, by 

Washington Irving, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District 
of New-York. 



By transfei 

OCT 9 1915 



INTRODUCTION. 



In the course of occasional visits to Canada many years since, I 
became intimately acquainted with some of the principal partners 
of the great Northwest Fur Company, who at that time lived in 
genial style at Montreal, and kept almost open house for the 
stranger. At their hospitable boards I occasionally met with 
partners, and clerks, and hardy fur traders from the interior 
posts ; men who had passed years remote from civilized society, 
among distant and savage tribes, and who had wonders to recount 
of their wide and wild peregrinations, their hunting exploits, and 
their perilous adventures and hair-breadth escapes among the 
Indians. I was at an age when imagination lends its coloring to 
every thing, and the stories of these Sindbads of the wildnerness 
made the life of a trapper and fur trader perfect romance to me. 
I even meditated at one time a visit to the remote posts of the 
company in tj;ie boats which annually ascended the lakes and 
rivers, being thereto invited by one of the partners ; and I have 
ever since regretted that I was prevented by circumstances from 
carrying my intention into effect. From those early impressions, 



vJ INTRODUCTION. 



the grand enterprises of the great fur companies, and the hazard- 
ous errantry of their associates in the wild parts of our vast con- 
tinent, have always been themes of charmed interest to me ; and 
I have felt anxious to get at the details of their adventurous ex- 
peditions among the savage tribes that peopled the depths of the 
wilderness. 

About two years ago, not long after my return from a tour 
upon the prairies of the far West, I had a conversation with my 
friend, Mr. John Jacob Astor, relative to that portion of our 
country, and to the adventurous traders to Santa Fe and the 
Columbia. This led him to advert to a great enterprise set on 
foot and conducted by him, between twenty and thirty years 
since, having for its object to carry the fur trade across the Kocky 
Mountains, and to sweep the shores of the Pacific. 

Finding that I took an interest in the subject, he expressed a 
regret that the true nature and extent of his enterprise and its 
national character and importance had never been understood, 
and a wish that I would undertake to give an account of it. The 
suggestion struck upon the chord of early associations, already 
vibrating in my mind. It occurred to me that a work of this 
kind might comprise a variety of those curious details, so inter- 
esting to me, illustrative of the fur trade ; of its remote and ad- 
venturous enterprises, and of the various people, and tribes, and 
castes, and characters, civilized and savage, affected by its opera- 
tions. The journals, and letters also, of the adventurers by sea 
and land employed by Mr. Astor in his comprehensiye project, 
might throw light upon portions of our country quite out of the 



INTRODUCTION. vii 



track of ordinary travel, and as yet but little known. I there- 
fore felt disposed to undertake the task, provided documents of 
sufficient extent and minuteness could be furnished to me. All 
the papers relative to the enterprise were accordingly submitted to 
my inspection. Among them were journals and letters narrating 
expeditions by sea, and journeys to and fro across the Rocky 
Mountains by routes before untravelled, together with documents 
illustrative of savage and colonial life on the borders of the 
Pacific. With such materials in hand, I undertook the work. 
The trouble of rummaging among business papers, and of col- 
lecting and collating facts from amidst tedious and commonplace 
details, was spared me by my nephew, Pierre M. Irving, who 
acted as my pioneer, and to whom I am greatly indebted, for 
smoothing my path and lightening my labors. 

As the journals, on which I chiefly depended, had been kept 
by men of business, intent upon the main object of the enter- 
prise, and but little versed in science, or curious about matters 
not immediately bearing upon their interests, and as they were 
written often in moments of fatigue or hurry, amid the incon 
veniences of wild encampments, they were often meagre in their 
details, furnishing hints to provoke rather than narratives to 
satisfy inquiry. I have, therefore, availed myself occasionally of 
collateral lights supplied by the published journals of other tra- 
vellers who have visited the scenes described: such as Messrs. 
Lewis and Clarke, Bradbury, Breckenridge, Long, Franchere, and 
Ross Cox, and make a general acknowledgment of aid received 
from these quarters. 



viii INTRODUCTION. 

The work I here present to the public, is necessarily of a 
rambling and somewhat disjointed nature, comprising various 
expeditions and adventures by land and sea. The facts, however, 
will prove to be linked and banded together by one grand scheme, 
devised and conducted by a master spirit ; one set of characters, 
also, continues throughout, appearing occasionally, though some- 
times at long intervals, and the whole enterprise winds up by a 
regular catastrophe ; so that the work, without any labored at- 
tempt at artificial construction, actually possesses much of that 
unity so much sought after in works of fiction, and considered so 
important to the interest of every history. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 



Objects cf American enterprise — gold hunting and fur trading— their effect on 

colonisation — early French Canadian settlers — Ottowa and Huron hunters 

an Indian trading camp — couriers des bois, or rangers of the woods — their 
roaming life— their revels and excesses— licensed traders— missionaries- 
trading posts— primitive French Canadian merchant— his establishment and 
dependents — British Canadian fur merchant — origin of the Northw^est Com- 
pany—its constitution— its internal trade— a candidate for the company- 
privations in the wilderness — northwest clerks — northwest partners — a north- 
west nabob — feudal notions in the forests — the lords of the lakes — Fort Wil- 
liam — its parliamentary hall and banqueting room — wassailing in the wil- 
•ierness, p^e^ jg 

CHAPTER n. 

Rise of the Mackinaw Company— attempt of the American government to 
counteract foreign influence over the Indian tribes— John Jacob Asior— his 
birth-place— his arrival in the United States— what first turned his atten- 
tion to the fur trade— his character, enterprises, and success — his commu- 
nications with the American government — origin of the American Fur 
Company 26 

CHAPTER III. 

Fur trade in the Pacific— American coasting voyages— Russian enterprises — 
discovery of the Columbia River— Carver's project to found a settlement 
there— Mackenzie's expedition— Lewis and Clarke's journey across the Rocky 
Mountains — Mr. Astor's grand commercial scheme — his correspondence on 
the subject with Mr. Jefferson— his negotiations with the Northwest Company 

—his steps to carry his scheme into effect, 32 

1 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Two expeditions set on foot — the Tonquin and her crew — Captain Thorn, his 
character — the partners and clerks — Canadian voyageurs, their habits, em- 
ployments, dress, character, songs — expedition of a Canadian boat and its 
crew by land and water — arrival at New-York — preparations for a sea voyage 
— northwest braggarts — underhand precautions — letter of instructions, 45 

CHAPTER V. 

Sailing of the Tonquin — a rigid commander and a reckless crew — landsmen 
on shipboard — fresh water sailors at sea — lubber nests — ship fare — a Labra- 
dor veteran — literary clerks — curious travellers — Robinson Crusoe's Island — 
quarter-deck quarrels — Falkland Islands — a wild-goose chase — Port Egmont 
— epitaph hunting — Old Mortality — penguin shooting — sportsmen left in the 
lurch — a hard pull — further altercations — arrival at Owyhee, , . 53 

CHAPTER VI. 
Owyhee — Sandwich Islanders — their nautical talents — Tamaahmaah — his navy 
— his negotiations — views of Mr. Astor with respect to the Sandwich Islands 
— Karakakora — royal monopoly of pork — description of the islanders — gaye- 
ties on shore — chronicler of the island — place where Captaii Cook was killed 
— John Young, a nautical governor — his story — Waititi — a royal residence 
— a royal visit — grand ceremonials — close dealing — a royal pork merchant — i 
grievances of a matter-of-fact-man, ...... 64 

CHAPTER VII. 

Departure from tae Sandwich Islands — misunderstandings — miseries ol a sus- 
picious man — arrival at the Columbia — dangerous service — gloomy appre- 
hensions — ^bars and breakers — perils of the ship — disasters of a boat's crew 
— burial of a Sandwich Islander, ....... 77 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Mouth of the Columbia — the native tribes — their fishing — their canoes — bold 
navigators — equestrian Indians and piscatory Indians, difference in their 
physical organization — search for a trading site — expedition of M'Dougal 
and David Stewart — Comcomly, the one-eyed chieftain — influence of wealth 
in savage life — slavery among the natives — an aristocracy of Flatheads — 
hospitahty among the Chinooks — Comcomly's daugnter — her conquest, 85 

CHAPTER IX. 

Point George — founding of Astoria — Indian visitors — their reception — the cap- 
tain taboos the ship — departure of the Tonquin — comments on the conduct 
of Captain Thorn, 91 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER X. 

Disquieting rumors from the interior — reconnoitering party — preparations for a 
trading post — an unexpected arrival — a spy in the camp — expedition into 
the interior — shores of the Columbia — Mount Coffin — Indian Sepulchre — the 
land of spirits — Columbian valley — Vancouver's Point — falls and rapids — a 
great fishing mart — the village of Wish-ram — difference between fishing 
Indians and hunting Indians — effects of habits of trade on the Indian charac- 
ter — post established at the Oakinagan, . .... 95 

CHAPTER XL 

Alarm at Astoria — rumor of Indian hostilities — preparations for defence — tragi- 
cal fate of the Tonquin, 106 

CHAPTER XII. 

Gloom at Astoria — an ingenious stratagem — the smallpox chief — launching ot 
the Dolly — an arrival — a Canadian trapper — a freeman of the forest — an 
Iroquois hunter — winter on the Columbia — festivities of New Year, 117 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Expedition by land — Wilson P.Hunt — his character — Donald M'Kenzie — re- 
cruiting service among the voyageurs — a bark canoe — chapel of St. Anne — 
votive ofl^erings — pious carousals — a ragged regiment — Mackinaw — picture 
of a trading post — frolicking voyageurs — swells and swaggerers — Indian cox- 
combs — a man of the north — jockeyship of voyageurs — inefficacy of gold — 
weight of a feather — Mr. Ramsay Crooks — his character — his risks among 
the Indians — his warning concerning Sioux and Blackfeet — embarkation of 
recruits — parting scenes between brothers, cousins, wives, sweethearts, and 
pot companions, ...••••••. 124 

CHAPTER XIV. 

St. Louis— its situation — motley population — French Creole traders and their 
dependents — Missouri Fur Company — Mr. Manuel Lisa — Mississippi boat- 
men — vagrant Indians — Kentucky hunters — old French mansion — fiddling 
— billiards — Mr. Joseph Miller — his character — recruits — voyage up the 
Missouri — difficulties of the river — merits of Canadian voyageurs — arrival 
at the Nodowa — Mr. Robert M'Lellan joins the party — John Day, a Virginia 
hunter — description of him — Mr. Hunt returns to St. Louis, . . 133 

CHAPTER XV. 

Opposition of the Missouri Fur Company — Blackfeet Indians — Pierre Dorion, 
a half-breed interpreter— old Dorion and his hybrid progeny — family quarrels 



CONTENTS. 



— cross purposes between Dorion and Lisa — renegadoes from Nodowa — 
perplexities of a commander — Messrs. Bradbury and Nuttall join the ex- 
pedition — legal embarrassments of Pierre Dorion — departure from St. Louis 
—conjugal discipline of a half-breed — annual swelling of the rivers — Daniel 
Boon, the patriarch of Kentucky — John Colter — his adventures among the 
Indians — rumors of danger ahead — Fort Osage — an Indian war-feast — 
troubles in the Dorion family — Buffaloes and turkey-buzzards, . 140 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Return of spring — appearance of snakes — great flights of wild pigeons — re- 
newal of the voyage — night encampments — Platte River — ceremonials on 
passing it — signs of Indian war parties — magnificent prospect at Papillion 
Creek — desertion of two hunters — an irruption into the camp of Indian des- 
peradoes — village of the Omahas — anecdotes of the tribe — feudal wars of the 
Indians — story of Blackbird, the famous Omaha chief, . . . 154 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Rumors of danger from the Sioux Tetons — ruthless character of those savages 
— pirates of the ^Missouri — their affair with Crooks and INPLellan — a trading 
expedition broken up — M'Lellan's vow of vengeance — uneasiness in the camp 
— desertions — departure frotn the Omaha village — meeting with Jones and 
Carson, two adventurous trappers — scientific pursuits of Messrs. Bradbury 
and Nuttall — zeal of a botanist — adventure of Mr. Bradbury with a Ponca 
Indian — expedient of the pocket compass and microscope — a messenger 
from Lisa — motives for pressing forward, ..... 167 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Camp gossip — deserters — recruits — Kentucky hunters — a veteran woodman — 
tidings of Mr. Henry — danger from the Blackfeet — alteration of plans- 
scenery of the river — buffalo roads — iron ore — country of the Sioux — a land 
of danger — apprehensions of the voj-ageurs — Indian scouts — threatened hos- 
tilities — a council of war — an array of battle — a parley — the pipe of peace 
— speech-making, 177 

CHAPTER XIX. 

The great bend of llie Missouri — Crooks and M'Lellan meet with two of theii 
Indian opponents — wanton outrage of a white man the cause of Indian hos- 
tility — dangers and precautions — an Indian war party — dangerous situation 
of Mr. Hunt — a friendly encampment — feasting aivd dancing — approach ol 
Manuel Lisa and his party — a grim meeting between old rivals — Pierre 
Dorion in a ftuy — a burst of chivalry, • 181 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Features of the wilderness — herds of buffalo — antelopes — their varieties and 
habits— John Day — his hunting stratagem — interview with three Arickaraa 
— negotiations between the rival parties — the Left-handed and the Big Man, 
two Arickara chiefs — Arickara village — its inhabitants — ceremonials on 
landing — a council lodge — grand conference — speech of Lisa — negotiation 
for horses — shrewd suggestion of Gray Eyes, an Arickara chief — encamp- 
ment of the trading parties, ........ 195 

CHAPTER XXI. 

An Indian horse fair — love of the Indians for horses — scenes in the Arickara 
village — Indian hospitality — duties of Indian women — game habits of the 
men — their indolence — love of gossiping — rumors of lurking enemies — scouts 
— an alarm — a sallying forth — Indian dogs — return of a horse-stealing party 
— an Indian deputation — fresh alarms — return of a successful war party — dres3 
of the Arickaras — Indian toilet — triumphal entry of the war party — meetings 
of relations and friends — Indian sensibility — meeting of a wounded warrior 
and his mother — festivities and lamentations, ..... 205 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Wilderness of the Far West — great American desert — parched seasons — Black 
Hills — Rocky Mountains — wandering and predatory hordes — speculations on 
what may be the future population — apprehended dangers — a plot to desert 
— Rose the interpreter — his sinister character — departure from the Arickara 
village, 216 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Summer weather of the prairies — purity of the atmosphere — Canadians on the 
march — sickness in the camp — Big River — vulgar nomenclature — suggestions 
about the original Indian names — camp of Cheyennes — trade for horses 
^-character of the Cheyennes — their horsemanship — historical anecdotes of 
the tribe, 222 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

New distribution of horses — secret information of treason in the camp — Rose 
the interpreter — his perfidious character — his plots — anecdotes of the Crow 
Indians — notorious horse stealers — some account of Rose — a desperado of 
the frontier, 228 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXV. 



Substitute for fuel on the prairies — fossil trees — fierceness of the buffaloes when 
in heat — three hunters missing — signal fires and smokes — ^uneasmess con- 
cerning the lost men — a plan to forestall a rogue — new arrangement with 
Rose — return of the wanderers, 232 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

The Black Mountains — haunts of predatory Indians — their wild and broken 
appearance — superstitions concerning them — thunder spirits — singular noises 
in the mountains — secret mines — hidden treasures — mountains in labor — sci- 
entific explanation — impassable defiles — black-tailed deer — the bighorn or 
ahsahta — prospect from a lofty height — plain with herds of buffalo — distant 
peaks of the Rocky Mountains — alarms in the camp — tracks of grizzly bears 
— dangerous nature of this animal — adventures of William Cannon and John 
Day with grizzly bears, ........ 237 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Indian trial — trough mountain travelling — sufferings from hunger and thirst — 
Powder River — game in abundance — a hunter's paradise — mountain peak 
seen at a great distance — one of the Big Horn chain — Rocky Mountains — 
extent — appearance — height — the great American desert — various character- 
istics of the mountains — Indian superstitions concerning them — land of souls 
— towns of the free and generous spirits — happy hunting grounds, . 245 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Region of the Crow Indians — scouts on the lookout — visit from a crew of hard 
riders — a Crow camp — presents to the Crow chief — bargaining — Crow 
•bullies — Rose among his Indian friends — parting with the Crows — perplexi- 
ties among the mountains — more of the Crows — equestrian children — search 
after stragglers, .......... 250 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Mountain glens — wandering band of savages — anecdotes of Shoshonies and 
Flatheads — root diggers — their solitary lurking habits — gnomes of the 
mountains — Wind River — scarcity of food — alteration of route — the Pilot 
Knobs or Tetons — branch of the Colorado — hunting camp, . . 256 

CHAPTER XXX. 

A plentiful hunting camp — Shoshonie hunters — Hoback's River — Mad River 
— encampment near the Pilot Knobs — a consultation — preparations for a 
perilous voyage, 264 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

A consultation whether to proceed by land or water — preparations for boat 
building — an exploring party — a party of trappers detached — two Snake vis- 
itors — their report concerning the river — confirmed by the exploring party — 
Mad River abandoned — arrival at Henry's Fort — detachment of Robinson, 
Hoback, and Rezner to trap — Mr. Miller resolves to accompany them — their 
departure, ........... 268 

CHAPTER XXXn. 

Scanty fare — a mendicant Snake — embarkation on Henry Rivei — joy of the 
voyageurs — arrival at Snakie River — rapids and breakers — beginning of mis- 
fortunes — Snake encampments — parley with a savage — a second disaster — 
loss of a boatman — the Caldron Linn, ...... 275 

CHAPTER XXXni. 

Gloomy council — exploring parties — discouraging reports — disastrous experi- 
ment — detachments in quest of succor — caches, how made — return of one of 
the detachments — unsuccessful — further disappointments — the Devil's Scuttle 
Hole, 282 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Determination of the party to proceed on foot — dreary deserts between Snake 
River and the Columbia — distribution of efTects preparatory to a march — 
division of the party — rugged march along the river — wild and broken 
scenery — Shoshonies — alarm of a Snake encampment — intercourse with the 
Snakes — horse dealing — value of a tin kettle — sufferings from thirst — a horse 
reclaimed — fortitude of an Indian woman — scarcity of food — dog's flesh a 
dainty — news of Mr. Crooks and his party — painfiil travelling among the 
mountains — snow storms — a dreary mountain prospect — a bivouack during 
a wintry night — return to the river bank, 28S 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

An unexpected meeting — navigation in a skin canoe — strange fears of suffering 
men — hardships of Mr. Crooks and his comrades — tidings of M'Lellan — a 
retrograde march — a willow raft — extreme suffering of some of the party — 
illness of Mr. Crooks — impatience of some of the men — necessity of leaving 
the laggards behind, .....•••• 299 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

Mr. Hunt overtakes the advanced party — Pierre Dorion.and his skeleton horse 
— a Shoshonie camp — a justifiable outrage — feasting on horse flesh — Mr. 



CONTENTS. 



Crooks brought to the camp — undertakes to relieve his men — the skin ferry 
boat — frenzy of Prevost — his melancholy fate — enfeebled state of John Day 
— Mr. Crooks again left behind — the party emerge from among the moun- 
tains — interview with Shoshonies — a guide procured to conduct the party 
across a mountain — ferriage across Snake River — reunion with Mr. Crooks's 
men — final departure from the river, . . . . . .304 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

Departure from Snake River — mountains to the north — wayworn travellers — 
an increase of the Dorion family — a camp of Shoshonies — a New- Year fes- 
tival among the Snakes — a wintry march through the mountains — a sunny 
prospect, and milder climate — Indian horse-tracks — grassy valleys — a camp 
of Sciatogas — joy of the travellers — dangers of abundance — habits of the 
Sciatogas — fate of Carriere — the Umatalla — arrival at the banks of the Co- 
lumbia — tidings of the scattered members of the expedition — scenery on the 
Columbia — tidings of Astoria — arrival at the falls, .... 311 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

The village of Wish-ram — roguery of the inhabitants — their habitations — 
tidings of Astoria — of the Tonquin massacre — thieves about the camp — a 
band of braggarts — embarkation — arrival at Astoria — a joyful reception — old 
comrades — adventures of Reed, M'Lellan, and M'Kenzie, among the Snake 
River Mountains — rejoicing at Astoria, 322 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

Scanty fare during the winter — a poor hunting ground — the return of the fish- 
ing season — the uthlecan or smelt — its qualities — vast shoals of it — sturgeon 
— Indian modes of taking it — the salmon — different species — nature of the 
country about the coast — forests and forest trees — a remarkable flowering 
vine — animals — ^birds — reptiles — climate west of the mountains — mildness 
of the temperature — soil of the coast and the interior, . . . 330 

CHAPTER XL. 

Natives in the neighborhood of Astoria — their persons and characteristics- 
causes of deformity — their dress — their contempt of beards — ornaments — 
armor and weapons — mode of flattening the head — e.xtent of the custom- 
religious belief — the two great spirits of the air and of the fire — priests or 
medicine men — the rival idols — polygamy a cause of greatness — petty war- 
fare — music, dancing, gambling — thieving a virtue — keen traders — intrusive 
habits — abhorrence of drunkenness — anecdote of Comcomly, . . 335 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

Spring arrangements at Astoria — various expeditions set out — the Long Nar- 
rows — pilfering Indians — thievish tribe at Wish-ram — portage at the falls — 
portage by moonlight — an attack, a rout, and a robbery — Indian cure foi 
cowardice — a parley and compromise — the dispatch party turn back — 
meet Crooks and John Day — their sufferings — Indian perfidy — arrival at 
Astoria, 343 

CHAPTER XLII. 

Comprehensive views — to supply the Russian fur establishment — an agent sent 
to Russia — project of an annual ship — the Beaver fitted out — her equipment 
and crew — instructions to the captain — the Sandwich Islands — rumors of 
the fate of the Tonquin — precautions on reaching the mouth of the Co- 
lumbia, 354 

CHAPTER XLIII. 

Active operations at Astoria — various expeditions fitted out — Robert Stuart 
and a party destined for New- York — singular conduct of John Day — his 
fate — piratical pass and hazardous portage — rattlesnakes — their abhorrence 
of tobacco — arrival among the Wallah- Wallahs — purchase of horses — de- 
parture of Stuart and his band for the mountains, .... 359 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

Route of Mr. Stuart — dreary wilds— thirsty travelling — a grove and streamlet 
— the Blue Mountains — a fertile plain with rivulets — sulphur spring — route 
along Snake River — rumors of white men — the Snake and his horse — a 
Snake guide — a midnight decampment — unexpected meeting with old com- 
rades — story of trappers' hardships — Salmon Falls — a great fishery — mode 
of spearing salmon — arrival at the Caldron Linn — state of the caches — new 
resolution of the three Kentucky trappers, 367 

CHAPTER XLV. 

The Snake River deserts — scanty fare — bewildered travellers — prowling In 
dians — a giant Crow chief — a bully rebuked — Indian signals — smoke on the 
mountains — Mad River — an alarm — an Indian foray — a scamper — a rude 
Indian joke — a sharp-shooter balked of his shot, .... 380 

1* 



10 CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 



Travellers unhorsed — pedestrian preparations — prying spies — bonfire of bag- 
gage — a march on foot — rafting a river — the wounded elk — Indian trails — 
wilful conduct of Mr. M'Lellan — grand prospect from a mountain — distant 
craters of volcanoes — illness of Mr. Crooks, ..... 388 

CHAPTER XLVn. 

Ben Jones and a grizzly bear — rocky heights — mountain torrents — traces of 
M'Lellan — volcanic remains — mineral earths — peculiar clay for pottery — 
dismal plight of M'Lellar — starvation — shocking proposition of a desperate 
man — a broken-down I all — a ravenous meal — Indian graves — hospitable 
Snakes — a forlorn alliance, ........ 396 

CHAPTER XLVIII. 

Spanish River scenery — trial of Crow Indians — a snow-storm— a rousing fire 
and a bufialo feast — a plain of salt — climbing a mountain — volcanic summit 
— extinguished crater — marine shells — encampment on a prairie — successful 
hunting — good cheer — romantic scenery — rocky defile — foaming rapids — 
the fiery narrows, ......... 406 

CHAPTER XLIX. 

Wintry storms — a halt and council — cantonment for the winter — fine hunting 
country — game of the mountains and plains — successful hunting — Mr. Crooks 
and a grizzly bear — the wigwam — bighorn and blacktails — beef and veni- 
son — good quarters and good cheer — an alarm — an intrusion — unwelcome 
guests — desolation of the larder — gormandizing exploits of hungry savages 
— good quarters abandoned, ........ 412 

CHAPTER L. 

Rough wintry travelling — hills and plains — snow and ice — disappearance of 
game — a vast dreary plain — a second halt for the winter — another wigwam 
— New Yeafs feast — buffalo humps, tongues, and marrow bones — return of 
spring — launch of canoes — bad navigation — pedestrian march — vast prairies 
— deserted camps — Pawnee squaws — an Otto Indian — news of war — voyage 
down the Platte and the Missouri — reception at Fort Osage — arrival at St 
Louis, 421 

CHAPTER LI 

Agreement between Mr. Astor and the Russian Fur Company — war between 
the United States and Great Britain — instructions to Captain Sowle of the 
Beaver — fitting out of the Lnrk — news of the arrival of Mr. Stuart, . 429 



CONTENTS. 11 



CHAPTER LII. 



Banks of the Wailah-Wallah — departure of David Stuart for the Oakinagan 
— Mr. Clarke's route up Lewis River — Chipunnish, or Pierced-nose Indians 
— their character, appearance, and habits — thievish habits — laying up of the 
boats — post at Pointed Heart and Spokan Rivers — M'Kenzie, his route up the 
Camoenum — bands of travelling Indians — expedition of Reed to the caches 
— adventures of wandering voyageurs and trappers, . . . 434 

CHAPTER LIII. 

Departure of Mr. Hunt in the Beaver — precautions at the factory — detachment 
to the Wollamut — gloomy apprehensions — arrival of M'Kenzie — affairs at 
the Shahaptan — news of war — dismay of M'Dougal — determination to aban- 
don Astoria — departure of M'Kenzie for the interior — adventure at the rapids 
— visit to the ruffians of Wish-ram — a perilous situation — meeting with 
M'Tavish and his party — arrival at the Shahaptan — plundered caches — de- 
termination of the wintering partners not to leave the country — arrival of 
Clarke among the Nez Perces — the affair of the silver goblet — hanging of an 
Indian — arrival of the wintering partners at Astoria, . . . 442 

CHAPTER LIV. 

The partners displeased with M'Dougal — equivocal conduct of that gentleman 
— partners agree to abandon Astoria — sale of goods to M'Tavish — arrange- 
ments for the year — manifesto signed by the partners — departure of M'Tavish 
for the interior, .......... 454 

CHAPTER LV. 

Anxieties of Mr. Astor — memorial of the Northwest Company — tidings of a 
British naval expedition against Astoria — Mr. Astor applies to government 
for protection — the frigate Adams ordered to be fitted out — bright news 
from Astoria — sunshine suddenly overclouded, . . 458 



CHAPTER LVl. 

Affairs of state at Astoria — M'Dougal proposes for the hand ot an Indian 
princess — matrimonial embassy to Comcomly — matrimonial notions among 
the Chinooks — settlements and pin money — the bringing home of the bride 
— a managing father-in-law — arrival of Prlr. Hunt at Astoria, . . 46] 



13 CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER LVII. 



Voyage of the Beaver to New Archangel — a Russian governor — roystoring 
rule — the tyranny of the table — hard drinking bargains — voyage to Kam- 
Bchatka — seal-catching establishment at St. Paul's — storms at sea — Mr. Hunt 
left at the Sandwich Islands — transactions of the Beaver at Canton — return 
of Mr. Hunt to Astoria, 465 

CHAPTER LVHI. 

Arrangements among the partners — Mr. Hunt sails in the Albatross — arrives 
at the Marquesas — news of the frigate Phoebe — Mr. Hunt proceeds to the 
Sandwich Islands — voyage of the Lark — her shipwreck — transactions with 
the natives of the Sandwich Islands — conduct of Tamaahmaah, . 474 

CHAPTER LIX. 

Arrival of M'Tavish at Astoria — conduct of his followers — negotiations of 
M'Dougal and M'Tavish — bargain for the transfer of Astoria — doubts enter- 
tained of the loyalty of M'Dougal, 483 

CHAPTER LX. 

Arrival of a strange sail — agitation at Astoria — warlike offer of Comcomly — 
Astoria taken possession of by the British — indignation of Comcomly at the 
conduct of his son-in-law, 489 

CHAPTER LXI. 

Arrival of the brig Pedler at Astoria — breaking up of the establishment — 
departure of several of the company — tragical story told by the squaw ol 
Pierre Dorion — fate of Reed and his companions — attempts of Mr. Astor to 
renew his enterprise — disappointment — concluding observations and reflec- 
tions, 491 

APPENDIX. 

Draught of a petition to Congress, sent by Mr. Astor in 1812, . . 505 

Letter from Mr. Gallatin to Mr. Astor, 507 

Notices of the present state of the Fur Trade, chiefly extracted from an 

article published in Siliiman's Journal for January, 1834, . . . 509 

Height of the Rocky Mountains, 514 

Suggestions with respect to the Iijdian tribes, and the ■ protection 

of our Trade, 515 




ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER I. 



Two leading objects of commercial gain hare given birth to wide 
and daring enterprise in the early bistory of the Americas ; the 
precious metals of the south, and the rich peltries of the north. 
While the fiery and magnificent Spaniard, inflamed with the 
mania for gold, has extended his discoveries and conquests over 
those brilliant countries scorched by the ardent sun of the 
tropics, the adroit and buoyant Frenchman, and the cool and 
calculating Briton, have pursued the less splendid, but no less 
lucrative, traffic in furs amidst the hyperborean regions of the 
Canadas, until they have advanced even within the Arctio 
circle. 

These two pursuits have thus in a manner been the pioneers 
and precursors of civilization. Without pausing on the borders, 
they have penetrated at once, in defiance of difficulties and 
dangers, to the heart of savage countries : laying open the 
hidden secrets of the wilderness ; leading the way to remote 
regions of beauty and fertility that might have remained unex 
plored for ages, and beckoning after them the slow and pausing 
steps of agriculture and civilization. 

It was the fur trade, in fact, which gave early sustenance and 
vitality to the great Canadian provinces. Being destitute of the 



14 ASTORIA. 

precious metals, at that time the leading objects of American 
enterprise, they were long neglected by the parent country. 
The French adventurers, however, who had settled on the banks 
of the St. Lawrence, soon found that in the rich peltries of tlie 
interior, they had sources of wealth that might almost rival the 
mines of Mexico and Peru. The Indians, as yet unacquainted 
with the artificial value given to some descriptions of furs, in 
civilized life, brought quantities of the most precious kinds and 
bartered them away for European trinkets and cheap commodi- 
ties. Immense profits were thus made by the early traders, and 
the trafl&c was pursued with avidity. 

As the valuable furs soon became scarce in the neighborhood 
of the settlements, the Indians of the vicinity were stimulated 
to take a wider range in their hunting expeditions ; they were 
generally accompanied on these expeditions by some of the 
traders or their dependents, who shared in the toils and perils 
of the chase, and at the same time made themselves acquainted 
with the best hunting and trapping grounds, and with the 
remote tribes, whom they encouraged to bring their peltries to 
the settlements. In this way the trade augmented, and was 
drawn from remote quarters to Montreal. Every now and then 
a large body of Ottawas, Hurons, and other tribes who hunted 
the countries bordering on the great lakes, would come down in 
a squadron of light canoes, laden with beaver skins, and other 
spoils of their year's hunting. The canoes would be unladen, 
taken on shore, and their contents disposed in order. A camp 
of birch bark would be pitched outside of the town, and a kind 
of primitive fair opened with that grave ceremonial so dear to 
the Indians. An audience would be demanded of the governor- 
general, who would hold the conference with becoming state, 
seated in an elbow chair, with the Indians ranged in semicircles 
before him, seated on the ground, and silently smoking their 



COUREURS DES BOIS. 15 



pipes. Speeches would be made, presents exchanged, and the 
audience would break up in universal good humor. 

Now would ensue a brisk traffic with the merchants, and all 
Montreal would be alive with naked Indians running from shop 
to shop, bargaining for arms, kettles, knives, axes, blankets, 
bright-colored cloths, and other articles of use or fancy ; upon all 
which, says an old French writer, the merchants were sure to clear 
at least two hundred per cent. There was no money used in this 
traffic, and, after a' time, all payment in spirituous liquors was 
prohibited, in consequence of the frantic and frightful excesses 
and bloody brawls which they were apt to occasion. 

Their wants and caprices being supplied, they would take 
leave of the governor, strike their tents, launch their canoes, and 
ply their way up the Ottawa to the lakes. 

A new and anomalous class of men gradually grew out of 
this trade. These were called coureurs des beds, rangers of the 
woods ; originally men who had accompanied the Indians in their 
hunting expeditions, and made themselves acquainted with ro 
mote tracts and tribes ; and who now became, as it were, pedlers 
of the wilderness. These men would set out from Montreal with 
canoes well stocked with goods, with arms and ammunition, and 
would make their way up the mazy and wandering rivers that 
interlace the vast forests of the Canadas, coasting the most 
remote lakes, and creating new wants and habitudes among the 
natives. Sometimes they sojourned for months among them, 
assimilating to their tastes and habits with the happy facility of 
Frenchmen • adopting in some degree the Indian dress, and not 
unfrequentl;y taking to themselves Indian wives. 

Twelve, fifteen, eighteen months would often elapse without 
any tidings of them, when they would come sweeping their way 
down the Ottawa in full glee, their canoes laden down with packs 
of beaver skins. Now came their turn for revelry and extrava- 



IG ASTORIA. 

gance. " You would be amazed/' says an old writer already 
quoted, " if you saw how lewd these pedlers are when they re- 
turn ; how they feast and game, and how prodigal they are, not 
only in their clothes, but upon their sweethearts. Such of them 
as are married have the wisdom to retire to their own houses ; 
but the bachelors act just as an East Indiaman and pirates are 
wont to do ; for they lavish, eat, drink, and play all away as long 
as the goods hold out ; and when these are gone, they even sell 
their embroidery, their lace, and their clothes. This done, they 
are forced upon a new voyage for subsistence."* 

Many of these coureurs clcs hois became so accustomed to the 
Indian mode of living, and the perfect freedom of the wilderness, 
that they lost all relish for civilization, and identified themselves 
with the savages among whom they dwelt, or could only be dis- 
tinguished from them by supci'ior licentiousness. Their conduct 
and example gradually corrupted the natives, and impeded the 
works of the Catholic missionaries, who were at this time prose- 
cuting their pious labors in the wilds of Canada. 

To check these abuses, and to protect the fur trade from 
various irregularities practised by these loose adventurers, an 
order was issued by the French government prohibiting all per- 
sons, on pain of death, from trading into the interior of the coun 
try without a license. 

These licenses were granted in writing by the governor 
general, and at first were given only to persons of respectability ; 
to gentlemen of broken fortunes ; to old officers of the army who 
had families to provide for ; or to their widows. Each license 
permitted the fitting out of two large canoes with merchandise 
for the lakes, and no more than twenty-five licenses were to be 
issued in one year. By degrees, however, private licenses were 
also granted, and the number rapidly increased. Those who did 

* La Hontan, v. i, let. 4. 



LICENSED TRADERS. i*i 



not choose to fit out the expeditions themselves, were permitted 
to sell them to the merchants ; these employed the coureurs ties 
hois, or rangers of the woods, to undertake the long voyages on 
shares, and thus the abuses of the old system were revived and 
continued.* 

The pious missionaries, employed by the Roman Catholic 
church to convert the Indians, did every thing in their power to 
counteract the profligacy caused and propagated by these men in 
the heart of the wilderness. The Catholic chapel might often be 
seen planted beside the trading house, and its spire surmounted 
by a cross, towering from the midst of an Indian village, on the 
banks of a river or a lake. The missions had often a beneficial 
effect on the simple sons of the forest, but had little power over 
the renegades from civilization. 

At length it was found necessary to establish fortified posts 
at the confluence of the rivers and the lakes for the protection 
of the trade, and the restraint of these profligates of the wilder- 

* The following are the terms on which these expeditions were commonly 
undertaken. The merchant holding the license would fit out the two canoes 
with a thousand crowns worth of goods, and put them under the conduct of 
six coureurs des bois, to whom the goods were charged at the rate of fifteen 
per cent, above the ready money price in the colony. The coureurs des bois, 
in their turn, dealt so sharply with the savages, that they generally returned, 
at the end of a year or so, with four canoes well laden, so as to insure a clear 
profit of seven hundred per cent., insomuch that the thousand crowns invested 
produced eight thousand. Of this extravagant profit the merchant had the 
lion's share. In the first place he would set aside six hundred crowns for 
the cost of his license, then a thousand crowns for the cost of the original 
merchandise. This would leave six thousand four hundred crowns, from 
which he would take forty per cent, for bottomry, amounting to two thousand 
five hundred and sixty crowns. The residue would be equally divided among 
the six wood rangers, who would thus receive little more than six hundred 
crowns for all their toils and perils. 



18 ASTORIA. 



ness. The most important of these was at Michilimackinac, 
situated at the strait of the same name, which connects Lakes 
Huron and Michigan. It became the great interior mart and 
place of deposit, and some of the regular merchants who prose 
cuted the trade in person, under their licenses, formed establish- 
ments here. This, too, was a rendezvous for the rangers of the 
woods, as well those who came up with goods from Montreal as 
those who returned with peltries from the interior. Here new 
expeditions were fitted out and took their departure for Lake 
Michigan and the Mississippi ; Lake Superior and the north- 
west ; and here the peltries brought in return were embarked for 
Montreal. 

The French merchant at his trading post, in these primitive 
days of Canada, was a kind of commercial patriarch. With the 
lax habits and easy familiarity of his race, he had a little world 
of self-indulgence and misrule around him. He had his clerks, 
canoe-men, and retainers of all kinds, who lived with him on 
terms of perfect sociability, always calling him by his Christian 
name ; he had his harem of Indian beauties, and his troop of 
half-breed children ; nor was there ever wanting a louting train 
of Indians, hanging about the establishment, eating and drinking 
at his expense in the intervals of their hunting expeditions. 

The Canadian traders, for a long time, had troublesome com- 
petitors in the British merchants of New- York, who inveigled the 
Indian hunters and the coureurs des bois to their posts, and 
traded with them on more favorable terms. A still more for- 
midable opposition was organized in the Hudson Bay Company, 
chartered by Charles II, in 1670, with the exclusive privilege of 
establishing trading houses on the shores of that bay and its 
tributary rivers ; a privilege which they have maintained to the 
present day. Between this British company and the French 
merchants of Canada, feuds and contests arose about alleged 



BRITISH FUR TRADERS. 19 



infringements of territorial limits, and acts of violence and 
bloodshed occurred between their agents. 

In 1 762, the French lost possession of Canada, and the trade 
fell principally into the hands of British subjects. For a time, 
however, it shrunk within narrow limits. The old coureurs des 
bois were broken up and dispersed, or, where they could be met 
with, were slow to accustom themselves to the habits and man- 
ners of their British employers. They missed the freedom, 
indulgence, and familiarity of the old French trading houses, 
and did not relish the sober exactness, reserve, and method of 
the new-comers. The British traders, too, were ignorant of the 
country, and distrustful of the natives. They had reason to be 
so. The treacherous and bloody affairs of Detroit and Michili- 
mackinac showed them the lurking hostility cherished by the 
savages, who had too long been taught by the French to regard 
them as enemies. 

It was not until the year 1766, that the trade regained its old 
channels ; but it was then pursued with much avidity and emula- 
tion by individual merchants, and soon transcended its former 
bounds. Expeditions were fitted out by various persons from 
Montreal and Michilimackinac, and rivalships and jealousies of 
course ensued. The trade was injured by their artifices to out- 
bid and undermine each other ; the Indians were debauched by 
the sale of spirituous liquors, which had been prohibited under 
the French rule. Scenes of drunkenness, brutality, and brawl 
were the consequence, in the Indian villages and around the 
trading houses ; while bloody feuds took place between rival 
trading parties when they happened to encounter eacl. other in 
the lawless depths of the wilderness. 

To put an end to these sordid and ruinous contentions, 
several of the principal merchants of Montreal entered into a 
partnership in the winter of 1783, which was augmented by 



20 A.STORIA. 

amalgamation with a rival company in 1787. Thus was created 
the famous " Northwest Company," which for a time held a 
lordly sway over the wintry lakes and boundless forests of the 
Canadas, almost equal to that of the East India Company over 
the voluptuous climes and magnificent realms of the Orient. 

The company consisted of twenty-three shareholders, or part- 
ners, but held in its employ about two thousand persons as clerks, 
guides, interpreters, and " voyageurs," or boatmen. These were 
distributed at various trading posts, established far and wide on 
the interior lakes and rivers, at immense distances from each 
other, and in the heart of trackless countries and savage tribes. 

Several of the partners resided in Montreal and Quebec, to 
manage the main concerns of the company. These were called 
agents, and were personages of great weight and importance ; 
the other partners took their stations at the interior posts, where 
they remained throughout the winter, to superintend the inter- 
course with the various tribes of Indians. They were thence 
called wintering partners. 

The goods destined for this wide and wandering trafiic were 
put up at the warehouses of the company in Montreal, and con- 
veyed in batteaux, or boats and canoes, up the river Attawa, or 
Ottowa, which falls into the St. Lawrence near Montreal, and by 
other rivers and portages, to Lake Nipising, Lake Huron, Lake 
Superior, and thence, by several chains of great and small lakes, to 
Lake TVinipeg, Lake Athabasca, and the great Slave Lake. This 
singular and beautiful system of internal seas, which renders an 
immense region of wilderness so accessible to the frail bark of 
the Indian or the trader, was studded by the remote posts of the 
company, where they carried on their traflBe with the surrounding 
tribes. 

The company, as we have shown, was at first a spontaneous 
association of merchants ; but, after it had been regularly or 



BRITISH NORTHWEST COMPANY. 21 



ganized, admission into it became extremely difficult. A can- 
didate had to enter, as it were, " before the mast," to undergo 
a long probation, and to rise slowly by his merits and services. 
He began, at an early age, as a clerk, and served an apprentice- 
ship of seven years, for which he received one hundred pounds 
sterling, was maintained at the expense of the company, and fur- 
nished with suitable clothing and equipments. His probation 
was generally passed at the interior trading posts ; removed for 
years from civilized society, leading a life almost as wild and pre- 
carious as the savages around him ; exposed to the severities of 
a northern winter, often suifering from a scarcity of food, and 
sometimes destitute for a long time of both bread and salt. 
When his apprenticeship had expired, he received a salary ac- 
cording to his deserts, varying from eighty to one hundred and 
sixty pounds sterling, and was now eligible to the great object of 
his ambition, a partnership in the company ; though years might 
yet elapse before he attained to that enviable station. 

Most of the clerks were young men of good families, from the 
Highlands of Scotland, characterized by the perseverance, thrift, 
and fidelity of their country, and fitted by their native hardihood 
to encounter the rigorous climate of the north, and to endure the 
trials and privations of their lot ; though it must not be con- 
cealed that the constitutions of many of them became impaired 
by the hardships of the wilderness, and their stomachs injured 
by occasional famishing, and especially by the want of bread and 
salt. Now and then, at an interval of years, they were permitted 
to come down on a visit to the establishment at Montreal, to 
recruit their health, and to have a taste of civilized life ; and 
these were brilliant spots in their existence. 

As to the principal partners, or agents, who resided in Mon- 
treal and Quebec, they formed a kind of commercial aristocracy, 
living in lordly and hospitable style. Their early associations, 



22 ASTORIA. 

when clerks at the remote trading posts, and the pleasures, dan- 
gers, adventures, and mishaps which they had shared together in 
their wild wood life, had linked them heartily to each other, so 
that they formed a convivial fraternity. Few travellers that have 
visited Canada some thirty years since, in the days of the M'Ta- 
vishes, the M'Gillivrays, the M'Kenzics, the Frobishers, and the 
other magnates of the northwest, when the company was in all 
its glory, but must remember the round of feasting and revelry 
kept up among these hyperborean nabobs. 

Sometimes one or two partners, recently from the interior 
posts, would make their appearance in New- York, in the course 
of a tour of pleasure and curiosity. On these occasions there 
was always a degree of magnificence of the purse about them, and 
a peculiar propensity to expenditure at the goldsmith's and jewel- 
ler's, for rings, chains, brooches, necklaces, jewelled watches, and 
other rich trinkets, partly for their own wear, partly for presents 
to their female acquaintances ; a gorgeous prodigality, such as 
was often to be noticed in former times in southern planters and 
West India Creoles, when flush with the profits of their plan- 
tations. 

To behold the Northwest Company in all its state and gran- 
deur, however, it was necessary to witness an annual gathering 
at the great interior place of conference established at Fort 
William, near what is called the Grand Portage, on Lake Supe- 
rior. Here two or three of the leading partners from Montreal 
proceeded once a year to meet the partners from the various 
trading posts of the wilderness, to discuss the affairs of the 
company during the preceding year, and to arrange plans for the 
future. 

On these occasions might be seen the change since the uncere- 
monious times of the old French traders ; now the aristocratical 
character of the Briton shone forth magnificently, or rather the 



FEUDAL STATE IN THE FOREST. 23 



feudal spirit of tlie Highlander. Every partner who had charge 
of an interior post, and a score of retainers at his command, felt 
like the chieftain of a Highland clan, and was almost as impor- 
tant in the eyes of his dependents as of himself To him a visit 
to the grand conference at Fort William was a most important 
event ; and he repaired there as to a meeting of parliament. 

The partners from Montreal, however, were the lords of the 
ascendant ; coming from the midst of luxurious and ostentatious 
life, they quite eclipsed their compeers from the woods, whose 
forms and faces had been battered and hardened by hard living 
and hard service, and whose garments and equipments were all 
the worse for wear. Indeed, the partners from below considered 
the whole dignity of the company as represented in their persons, 
and conducted themselves in suitable style. They ascended the 
rivers in great state, like sovereigns making a progress : or rather 
like Highland chieftains navigating their subject lakes. They 
were wrapped in rich furs, their huge canoes freighted with every 
convenience and luxury, and manned by Canadian voyageurs, as 
obedient as Highland clansmen. They carried up with them 
cooks and bakers, together with delicacies of every kind, and 
abundance of choice wines for the banquets which attended this 
great convocation. Happy were they, too, if they could meet 
with some distinguished stranger ; above all, some titled member 
of the Britisn nobility, to accompany them on this stately occa- 
sion, and grace their high solemnities. 

Fort William, the scene of this important annual meeting, 
was a considerable village on the banks of Lake Superior. Here, 
in an immense wooden building, was the great council hall, as also 
the banqueting chamber, decorated with Indian arms and accou- 
trements, and the trophies of the fur trade. The house swarmed 
at this time with traders and voyageurs, some from Montreal, 
bound to the interior posts ; some from the interior posts, bound 



24 ASTORIA. 

to Montreal. The councils were held in great state, for every 
member felt as if sitting in parliament, and every retainer and 
dependent looked up to the assemblage with awe, as to the house 
of lords. There was a vast deal of solemn deliberation, and 
hard Scottish reasoning, with an occasional swell of pompous 
declamation. 

These grave and weighty councils were alternated by huge 
feasts and revels, like some of the old feasts described in High- 
land castles. The tables in the great banqueting room groaned 
under the weight of game of all kinds ; of venison from the 
woods, and fish from the lakes, with hunters' delicacies, such as 
buflfaloes' tongues, and beavers' tails ; and various luxuries from 
Montreal, all served up by experienced cooks brought for the pur- 
pose. There was no stint of generous wine, for it was a hard- 
drinking period, a time of loyal toasts, and bacchanalian songs, 
and brimming bumpers. 

While the chiefs thus revelled in hall, and made the rafters 
resound with bursts of loyalty and old Scottish songs, chanted 
in voices cracked and sharpened by the northern blast, their 
merriment was echoed and prolonged by a mongrel legion of re- 
tainers, Canadian voyagcurs, half-breeds, Indian hunters, and 
vagabond hangers-on, who feasted sumptuously without on the 
crumbs that fell from their table, and made the welkin ring with 
old French ditties, mingled with Indian yelps and yellings. 

Such was the Northwest Company in its powerful and pros- 
perous days, when it held a kind of feudal sway over a vast 
domain of lake and forest. We are dwelling too long, perhaps, 
upon these individual pictures, endeared to us by the associations 
of early life, when, as yet a stripling youth, we have sat at the 
hospitable boards of the " mighty Northwesters," the lords of the 
ascendant at Montreal, and gazed with wondering and inexpe- 
rienced eye at the baronial wassailing, and listened with aston* 



THE GLORIES OF FORT WILLIAM. 25 



ished ear to their tales of hardships and adventures. It is one 
oTbject of our task, however, to present scenes of the rough life 
of the wilderness, and we are tempted to fix these few memorials 
of a transient state of things fast passing into oblivion ; — for the 
feudal state of Fort William is at an end ; its council chamber is 
silent and deserted ; its banquet hall no longer echoes to the 
burst of loyalty, or the " auld world " ditty ; the lords of the 
lakes and forests have passed away ; and the hospitable magnatcLS 
of Montreal — ^where are they 1 



26 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER II. 

The success of the Northwest Company stimulated further enter- 
prise in this opening and apparently boundless field of profit. 
The trafiic of that company lay principally in the high northern 
latitudes, while there were immense regions to the south and 
west, known to abound with valuable peltries ; but which, as yet, 
had been but little explored by the fur trader. A new association 
of British merchants was therefore formed, to prosecute the trade 
in this directiosi. The chief factory was established at the old 
emporium of Michilimackinac, from which place the association 
took its name, and was commonly called the Mackinaw Company. 

While the Northwesters continued to push their enterprises 
into the hyperborean regions from their strong-hold at Fort Wil- 
liam, and to hold almost sovereign sway over the tribes of the 
upper lakes and rivers, the Mackinaw Company sent forth their 
light perogues, and barks, by Green Bay, Fox River, and the 
Wisconsin, to that great artery of the west, the Mississippi ; and 
down that stream to all its tributary rivers. In this way they 
hoped soon to monopolize the trade with all the tribes on the 
southern and western waters, and of those vast tracts comprised 
in ancient Louisiana. 

The government of the United States began to view with a 
wary eye the growing influence thus acquired by combinations ot 
foreigners, over the aboriginal tribes inhabiting its territories, 
and endeavored to counteract it. For this purpose, as early as 
1796, the government sent out agents to establish rival trading 



JOHN JACOB ASTOR. 27 



houses on tlie frontier, so as to supply the wants oi the Indians : 
to link their interests and feelings with those of the people of the 
United States, and to divert this important branch of trade into 
national channels. 

The expedient, however, was unsuccessful, as most commer- 
cial expedients are prone to be, where the dull patronage of gov- 
ernment is counted upon to outvie the keen activity of private 
enterprise. What government failed to effect, however, with all 
its patronage and all its agents, was at length brought about by 
the enterprise and perseverance of a single merchant, one of its 
adopted citizens ; and this brings us to speak of the individual 
whose enterprise is the especial subject of the following pages ; 
a man whose name and character are worthy of being enrolled 
in the history of commerce, as illustrating its noblest aims 
and soundest maxims. A few brief anecdotes of his early life, 
and of the circumstances which first determined him to the 
branch of commerce of which we are treating, cannot be but 
interesting. 

John Jacob Astor, the individual in question, was born in the 
honest little German village of Waldorf, near Heidelberg, on the 
banks of the Rhine. He was brought up in the simplicity of 
rural life, but, while yet a more stripling, left his home, and 
launched himself amid the bus-y scenes of London, having had, 
from his very boyhood, a singular presentiment that he would 
ultimately arrive at great fortune. 

At the close of the American Revolution he was still in Lon- 
don, and scarce on the threshold of active life. An elder brother 
had been for some few years resident in the United States, and 
Mr. Astor determined to follow him, and to seek his fortunes in 
the rising country. Investing a small sum which he had amassed 
since leaving his native village, in merchandise suited to the 
American market, he embarked, in the month of November, 1783 



28 ASTORIA. 

in a sbip bound to Baltimore, and arrived in Hampton Roada in 
tlic month of January. The winter was extremely severe, and the 
ship, with many others, was detained by the ice in and about. 
Chesapeake Bay for nearly three months. 

During this period, the passengers of the various ships used 
occasionally to go on shore, and mingle sociably together. In 
this way Mr. Astor became acquainted with a countryman of 
his, a furrier by trade. Having had a previous impression that 
this might be a lucrative trade in the New World, he made many 
inquiries of his new acquaintance on the subject, who cheerfully 
gave him all the information in his power as to the quality and 
value of different furs, and the mode of carrying on the traffic. 
He subsequently accompanied him to New- York, and, by his ad- 
vice, Mr. Astor was induced to invest the proceeds of his mer- 
chandise in furs. With these he sailed from New- York to 
London in 1784, disposed of them advantageously, made himself 
further acquainted with the course of the trade, and returned the 
same year to New- York, with a view to settle in the United 
States 

He now devoted himself to the branch of commerce with 
which he had thus casually been made acquainted. He began 
his career, of course, on the narrowest scale ; but he brought to 
the task a persevering industry, rigid economy, and strict integ 
rity. To these were added an aspiring spirit that always looked 
upward ; a genius bold, fertile, and expansive ; a sagacity quick 
to grasp and convert every circumstance to its advantage, and a 
singular and never wavering confidence of signal success.* 

* An instance of tliis buoyant confidence, which no doubt aided to produce 
the success it anticipated, we have from the lips of Mr. A. himself. While 
yet almost a stranger in the city, and in very narrow circumstances, he passed 
by where a row of houses had just been erected in Broadway, and which, from 
the superior style of their architecture, were the talk and boast of the city 



DEALINGS IN CANADA. 29 



As yet, trade in peltries was not organized in the United 
States, and could not be said to form a regular line of business. 
Furs and skins were casually collected by tlie country traders in 
their dealings with the Indians or the white hunters, but the 
main supply was derived from Canada. As Mr. Astor's means 
increased, he made annual visits to Monti-eal, where he purchased 
furs from the houses at that place engaged in the trade. These 
he shipped from Canada to London, no direct trade being allowed 
from that colony to any but the mother country. 

In 1794 or '95, a treaty with Great Britain removed the 
restrictions imposed upon the trade with the colonies, and opened 
a direct commercial intercourse between Canada and the United 
States. Mr. Astor was in London at the time, and immediately 
made a contract with the agents of the Northwest Company for 
furs. He was now enabled to import them from Montreal into 
the United States for the home supply, and to be shipped thence 
to different parts of Europe, as well as to China, which has ever 
been the best market for the richest and finest kinds of peltry. 

The treaty in question provided, likewise, that the military 
posts occupied by the British within the territorial limits of the 
United States, should be surrendered. Accordingly, Oswego, 
Niagara, Detroit, Michilimackinac, and other posts on the Ameri- 
can side of the lakes, were given up. An opening was thus made 
for the American merchant to trade on the confines of Canada, 
and within the territories of the United States. After an inter- 
val of some years, about 1807, Mr. Astor embarked in this trade 
on his own account. His capital and resources had by this time 
greatly augmented, and he had risen from small beginnings to 
take his place among the first merchants and financiers of the 

" I'll build, one clay or other, a greater house than any of these, in this very 
etreet, ' said he to liimself. He has accomplished his prediction. 



80 ASTORIA. 



country. His genius had ever been in advance of liis circum- 
stances, prompting him to new and wide fields of enterprise 
beyond the scope of ordinary merchants. With all his enterprise 
and resources, however, he soon found the power and influence 
of the Michilimackinac (or Mackinaw) Company too great for 
him, having engrossed most of the trade within the American 
borders. 

A plan had to be devised to enable him to enter into success- 
ful competition. He was aware of the wish of the American 
government, already stated, that the fur trade within its bounda- 
ries should be in the hands of American citizens, and of the inef- 
fectual measures it had taken to accomplish that object. He now 
offered, if aided and protected by government, to turn the whole 
of that trade into American channels. He was invited to unfold 
his plans to government, and they were warmly approved, thougj 
the executive could give no direct aid. 

Thus countenanced, however, he obtained, in 1 809, a charter 
from the legislature of the state (jf New- York, incorporating a 
company under the name of " The American Fur Company," with 
a capital of one million of dollars, with the privilege of increasing 
it to two millions. The capital was furnished by himself — ^he, 
in fact, constituted the company ; for, though he had a board 
of directors, they were merely nominal; the whole business was 
conducted on his plans, and with his resources, but he preferred 
to do so under the imposing and formidable aspect of a corpora- 
tion, rather than in his individual name, and his policy was saga- 
cious and effective. 

As the Mackinaw Company still continued its rivalry, and as 
the fur trade would not advantageously admit of competition, he 
made a new arrangement in 1811, by which, in conjunction with 
certain partners of the Northwest Company, and other persons 
engaged in the fur trade, he bought out the Mackinaw Company, 



SOUTHWEST COMPANY. 31 



and merged that and the American Fur Company into a new 
association, to be called " The Southwest Company." This he 
likewise did with the privity and approbation of the American 
government. 

By this arrangement Mr. Astor became proprietor of one 
half of the Indian establishments and goods which the Mackinaw 
Company had within the territory of the Indian country in the 
United States, and it was understood that the whole was to be 
surrendered into his hands at the expiration of five years, on 
condition that the American company would not trade within 
the British dominions. 

Unluckily, the war which broke out in 1812 between Great 
Britain and the United States suspended the association : and, 
after the war, it was entirely dissolved ; congress having passed 
a law prohibiting British fur traders from prosecuting their 
enterprises within the territories of the United States. 



32 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER III. 

While the various companies we liave noticed were pushing their 
enterprises far and wide in the wilds of Canada, and along the 
course of the great western waters, other adventurers, intent on 
the same objects, were traversing the watery wastes of the Pacific 
and skirting the northwest coast of America. The last voyage 
of that renowned but unfortunate discoverer, Captain Cook, had 
made known the vast quantities of the sea-otter to be found along 
that coast, and the immense prices to be obtained for its fur in 
China. It was as if a new gold coast had been discovered. In- 
dividuals from various countries dashed into this lucrative traffic, 
so that in the year 1792, there were twenty-one vessels under 
different flags, plying along the coast and trading with the na- 
tives. The greater part of them were American, and owned by 
Boston merchants. They generally remained on the coast^ and 
about the adjacent seas, for two years, carrying on as wandering 
and adventurous a commerce on the water as did the traders and 
trappers on land. Their trade extended along the whole coast 
from California to the high northern latitudes. They would run 
in near shore, anchor, and wait for the natives to come off in 
their canoes with peltries. The trade exhausted at one place, 
they would up anchor and off to another. In this way they would 
consume the summer, and when autumn came on, would run 
down to the Sandwich Islands and winter in some friendly and 
plentiful harbor. In the following year they would resume their 
summer trade, commencing at California and proceeding north ; 



RUSSIAN ENTERPRISES. 33 



and, Laving in the course of the two seasons collected a sufficient 
cargo of peltries, would make the best of their way to China. 
Here they would sell their furs, take in teas, nankeens, and other 
merchandise, and return to Boston, after an absence of two or 
three years. 

The people, however, who entered most extensively and effec- 
tively in the fur trade of the Pacific, were the Russians. Instead 
of making casual voyages, in transient ships, they established 
regular trading-houses in the high latitudes, along the northwest 
coast of America, and upon the chain of the Aleutian islands 
between Kamtschatka and the promontory of Alaska. 

To promote and protect these enterprises, a company was 
incorporated by the Russian government with exclusive privi- 
leges, and a capital of two hundred and sixty thousand pounds 
sterling ; and the sovereignty of that part of the American conti 
nent, along the coast of which the posts had been established, 
was claimed by the Russian crown, on the plea that the land 
had been discovered and occupied by its subjects. 

As China was the grand mart for the furs collected in these 
quarters, the Russians had the advantage over their competitors 
in the trade. The latter had to take their peltries to Canton, 
which, however, was a mere receiving mart, from whence they 
had to be distributed over the interior of the empire and sent to 
the northern parts, where there was the chief consumption. The 
Russians, on the contrary, carried their furs, by a shorter voyage, 
directly to the northern parts of the Chinese empire ; thus being 
able to afford them in the market without the additional cost of 
internal transportation. 

We come now to the immediate field of operation of the great 
enterprise we have undertaken to illustrate. 

Among 'the American ships which traded along the north- 
west coast in 179"^ was the Columbia, Captain Gray, of Boston 

2* 



34 ASTORIA. 

In the course of her voyage she discovered the mouth of a large 
river in lat. 4G° 19' north. Entering it with some difficulty, on 
account of sand-bars and breakers, she came to anchor in a spa- 
cious bay. A boat was well manned, and sent on shore to a vil- 
lage on the beach, but all the inhabitants fled excepting the aged 
and infirm. The kind manner in which these were ti-eated, and 
the presents given to them, gradually lured back the others, and 
a friendly intercourse took place. They had never seen a ship or 
a white man. When they had first descried the Columbia, they 
had supposed it a floating island ; then some monster of the 
deep ; but when they saw the boat putting for shore with human 
beings on board, they considered them cannibals sent by the 
Great Spirit to ravage the country and devour the inhabitants. 
Captain Gray did not ascend the river farther than the bay in 
question, which continues to bear his name. After putting to 
sea, he fell in with the celebrated discoverer, Vancouver, and 
informed him of his discovery, furnishing him with a chart which 
he had made of the river. Vancouver visited the river, and his 
lieutenant, Broughton, explored it by the aid of Captain Gray's 
chart ; ascending it upwards of one hundred miles, until within 
view of a snowy mountain, to which he gave the name of Mount 
Hood, which it still retains. 

The existence of this river, however, was known long before 
the visits of Gray and Vancouver, but the information concern- 
ing it was vague and indefinite, being gathered from the reports 
of Indians. It was spoken of by travellers as the Oregon, and 
as the great river of the west. A Spanish ship is said to have 
been wrecked at the mouth, several of the crew of which lived 
for some time among the natives. The Columbia, however, is 
oelieved to be the first ship that made a regular discovery and 
anchored within its waters, and it has since generally borne the 
name of that vessel. 



CARVER'S PROJECT. 35 



As early as 1763, shortly after the acquisition of the Cauadas 
by Great Britain, Captain Jonathan Carver, who had been in the 
British provincial army, projected a journey across the continent 
between the forty-third and forty-sixth degrees of northern lati- 
tude, to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. His objects were to 
ascertain the breadth of the continent at its broadest part, and 
to determine on some place on the shores of the Pacific, where 
government might establish a post to facilitate the discovery of a 
northwest passage, or a communication between Hudson's Bay 
and the Pacific Ocean. This place he presumed wou.ld be some- 
where about the Straits of Annian, at which point he supposed 
the Oregon disembogued itself It was his opinion, also, that a 
settlement on this extremity of America would disclose new 
sources of trade, promote many useful discoveries, and open a 
more direct communication with China and the English settle- 
ments in the East Indies, than that by the Cape of Good Hope 
or the Straits of Magellan.* This enterprising and intrepid 
traveller was twice baffled in individual efforts to accomplish this 
great journey. In 1774, he was joined in the scheme by Richard 
Whitworth, a member of parliament, and a man of wealth. Their 
enterprise was projected on a broad and bold plan. They were to 
take with them fifty or sixty men, artificers and mariners. With 
these they were to make their way up one of the branches of the 
Missouri, explore the mountains for the source of the Oregon, 
or river of the west, and sail down that river to its supposed exit 
near the Straits of Annian. Here they were to erect a fort, and 
build the vessels necessary to carry their discoveries by sea into 
effect. Their plan had the sanction of the British government, 
and grants and other requisites were nearly completed, when the 

* Carver's Travels, Introd. p. iii. Philad. 1796. 



36 ASTORIA. 

breaking out of the American revolution once more defeated the 
undertaking.* 

The expedition of Sir Alexander Mackenzie in 1793, across 
the continent to the Pacific Ocean, which he reached in lat. 
52° 20^ 48''', again suggested the possibility of linking together 
the trade of both sides of the continent. In lat. 52° 30' he had 
descended a river for some distance which flowed towards the 
south, and was called by the natives Tacoutche Tesse, and which 
he erroneously supposed to be the Columbia. It was afterwards 
ascertained that it emptied itself in lat. 49°, whereas the mouth 
of the Columbia is about three degrees further south. 

When Mackenzie some years subsequently published an ac- 
count of his expeditions, he suggested the policy of opening an 
intercourse between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and forming 
regular establishments through the interior and at both extremes, 
as well as along the coasts and islands. By this means, he 
observed, the entire command of the fur trade of North America 
might be obtained from lat. 48° north, to the pole, excepting 
that portion held by the Russians, for as to the American adven- 
turers who had hitherto enjoyed the trafiic along the northwest 
coast, they would instantly disappear, he added, before a well- 
regulated trade. 

A scheme of this kind, however, was too vast and hazardous 
for individual enterprise ; it could only be undertaken by a com 
pany under the sanction and protection of a government ; and as 
there might be a clashing of claims between the Hudson's Bay 
and Northwest Company, the one holding by right of charter, the 
other by right of possession, he proposed that the two companies 
phould coalesce in this great undertaking. The long-cherished 

* Carver's Travels, p. 360- Phiiad. 1796. 



SCHEME OF MR. ASTOR. 37 



jealousies of these two companies, however, were too deep and 
strong to allow them to listen to such counsel. 

In the meantime the attention of the American government 
was attracted to the subject, and the memorable expedition undc 
Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, fitted out. These gentlemen, in 1804, 
accomplished the enterprise which had been projected by Carver 
and Whitworth, in 1774. They ascended the Missouri, passed 
through the stupendous gates of the Kocky Mountains, hitherto 
unknown to white men ; discovered and explored the upper wa- 
ters of the Columbia, and followed that river down to its mouth, 
where their countryman, Gray, had anchored about twelve years 
previously. Here they passed the winter, and returned across 
the mountains in the following spring. The reports published by 
them of their expedition, demonstrated the practicability of estab- 
lishing a line of communication across the continent, from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. 

It was then that the idea presented itself to the mind of Mr. 
Astor, of grasping with his individual hand this great enterprise, 
which for years had been dubiously yet desirously contemplated 
by powerful associations and maternal governments. For some 
time he revolved the idea in his mind, gradually extending and 
maturing his j)lans as his means of executing them augmented. 
The main feature of his scheme was to establish a line of trading 
posts along the Missouri and the Columbia, to the mouth of tlie 
latter, where was to be founded the chief trading house or mart. 
Inferior posts would be established in the interior, and on all the 
tributary streams of the Columbia, to trade with the Indians ; 
these posts would draw their supplies from the main establish- 
ment, and bring to it the peltries they collected. Coasting craft 
would be built and fitted out, also, at the mouth of the Columbia, 
to trade, at favorable seasons, all along the northwest coast, and 
return, with the proceeds of their voyages, to this place of de 



38 ASTORIA. 

posit. Thus all the Indian trade, both of the interior and the 
coast, would converge to this point, and thence derive its sus- 
tenance. 

A ship was to be sent annually from New-York to this main 
establishment with reinforcements and supplies, and with mer- 
chandise suited to the trade. It would take on board the furs 
collected during the preceding year, carry them to Canton, invest 
the proceeds in the rich merchandise of China, and return thus 
freighted to New- York. 

As, in extending the American trade along the coast to the 
northward, it might be brought into the vicinity of the Russian 
Fur Company, and produce a hostile rivalry, it was part of the 
plan of Mr. Astor to conciliate the good will of that company by 
the most amicable and beneficial arrangements. The Russian 
establishment was chiefly dependent for its supplies upon tran- 
sient trading vessels from the United States. These vessels, 
liowever, were often of more harm than advantage. Being owned 
by private adventurers, or casual voyagers, who cared only for 
present jDrofit, and had no interest in the permanent prosperity 
of the trade, they were reckless in their dealings with the natives, 
and made no scruple of supplying them with firearms. In this 
way several fierce tribes in the vicinity of the Russian posts, or 
within the range of their trading excursions, were furnished with 
deadly means of warfare, and rendered troublesome and danger- 
ous neighbors. 

The Russian government had made representations to that of 
the TTnited States of these malpractices on the part of its citi- 
zens, and urged to have this traffic in arms prohibited ; but, as it 
did not infringe any municipal law, our government could not 
interfere. Yet still it regarded, with solicitude, a traffic which, 
if persisted in, might give offisnce to Russia, at tliat time almost 
the only power friendly to us. In this dilemma the government 



LETTER OF MR. JEFFERSON. 39 



had applied to Mr. Astor, as one conversant in this branch of 
trade, for information that might point put a way to remedy the 
evil, This circumstance had suggested to him the idea of sup- 
plying the Russian establishment regularly by means of the 
annual ship that should visit the settlement at the mouth of the 
Columbia (or Oregon) ; by this means the casual trading vessels 
would be excluded from those parts of the coast where their mal- 
practices were so injui>ious to the Russians. 

Such is a brief outline of the enterprise projected by Mr. 
Astor, but which continually expanded in his mind. Indeed it 
is due to him to say that he was not actuated by mere motives of 
individual profit. He was already wealthy beyond the ordinary 
desires of man, but he now aspired to that honorable fame which 
is awarded to men of similar scope of mind, who by tbeir great 
commercial enterprises bave enriched nations, peopled wilder- 
nesses, and extended the bounds of empire. He considered his 
projected establisbment at the mouth of tbe Columbia as the em- 
porium to an immense commerce ; as a colony that would form 
the germ of a wide civilization ; that would, in fact, carr}' the 
Araerican population across the Rocky Mountains and spread it 
along the shores of tbe Pacific, as it already animated tbe shores 
of the Atlantic. 

As Mr. Astor, by the magnitude of his commercial and finan- 
cial relations, and tbe vigor and scope of his self-taught mind, 
had elevated bimself into the consideration of government and 
tbe communion and correspondence witli leading statesmen, he, 
at an early period, communicated bis schemes to President Jef- 
ferson, soliciting the countenance of government. How highly 
they were esteemed by that eminent man, we may judge by the 
following passage, written by him some time afterwards to 
Mr. Astor. 

" I remember well having invited your proposition on this 



40 ASTORIA. 

subject,* and encouraged it with tlie assurance of every facility 
and protection which the government could properly afford. I 
considered, as a great public acquisition, the commencement of a 
settlement on that point of the western coast of America, and 
looked forward with gratification to the time when its descendants 
should have spread themselves through the whole length of that 
coast, covering it with free and independent Americans, uncon. 
nected with us but by the ties of blood and intei'est, and enjoying 
like us the rights of self-government." 

The cabinet joined with Mr. Jefferson in warm approbation of 
the plan, and held out assurance of every protection that could, 
consistently with general policy, be afforded. 

Mr. Astor now prepared to carry his scheme into prompt exe- 
cution. He had some competition, however, to apprehend and 
guard against. The Northwest Company, acting feebly and par- 
tially upon the suggestions of its former agent. Sir Alexander 
Mackenzie, had pushed one or two advanced trading posts across 
the Rocky Mountains, into a tract of country visited by that en- 
terprising traveller, and since named New Caledonia. This tract 
lay about two degrees north of the Columbia, and intervened be- 
tween the territories of the United States and those of Russia. 
Its length was about five hundred and fifty miles, and its breadth, 
from the mountains to the Pacific, from three hundred to three 
liundrcd and fifty geographical miles. 

Should the Northwest Company persist in extending their 
trade in that quarter, their competition might be of serious detri- 
ment to the plans of Mr. Astor. It is true they would contend 

* On ihia point Mr. Jefferson's memory was in error. The proposition 
alliuled to was the one, ah'eady mentioned, for the establishment of an Ameri- 
can Fur Company in the Atlantic states. The great enterprise beyond the 
mountains, that was to sweep the shores of the Pacific, originated in the mind 
of Mr. Astor, and was proposed by him to the government. 



NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE N. W. COMPANY, 41 



with liim to a vast disadvantage, from the checks and restrictiona 
to which thej were subjected. They were straitened on one side 
by the rivalry of the Hudson's Bay Company ; then they had no 
good post on the Pacific where they could receive supplies by 
eea for their establishments beyond the mountains ; nor, if they 
had one, could they ship their furs thence to China, that great 
mart for peltries ; the Chinese trade being comprised in the 
monopoly of the East India Company. Their posts beyond the 
mountains had to be supplied in yearly expeditions, like caravans, 
from Montreal, and the furs conveyed back in the same way, by 
long, precarious, and expensive routes, across the continent. 
Mr. Astor, on the contrary, would be able to supply his proposed 
establishment at the mouth of the Columbia by sea, and to ship 
the furs collected there directly to China, so as to undersell the 
Northwest Company in the great Chinese market. 

Still, the competition of two rival companies west of the 
Rocky Mountains could not but prove detrimental to both, and 
fraught with those evils, both to the trade and to the Indians, 
that had attended similar rivalries in the Canadas. To prevent 
any contest of the kind, therefore, he made kno^vn his plan to the 
agents of the Northwest Company, and proposed to interest 
them, to the extent of one-third, in the trade thus to be opened. 
Some correspondence and negotiation ensued. The company 
were aware of the advantages which would be possessed by Mr. 
Astor should he be able to carry his scheme into effect ; but they 
anticipated a monopoly of the trade beyond the mountains by 
their establishments in New Caledonia, and were loth to share it 
with an individual who had already proved a formidable competi- 
tor in the Atlantic trade. They hoped, too, by a timely move, to 
secure the mouth of the Columbia before Mr. Astor would be 
able to put his plans into operation ; and, that key to the inter- 
nal trade once in their possession, tlie whole country would be at 



42 ASTORIA. 



their command. After some negotiation and delay, therefore, 
they declined tlie proposition that had been made to them, but 
subsequently dispatched a party for the mouth of the Columbia, 
to establish a post there before any expedition sent out by Mr. 
Astor might arrive. 

In the meantime Mr. Astor, finding his overtures rejected, 
proceeded fearlessly to execute his enterprise in face of the whole 
power of the Northwest Company. His main establishment once 
planted at the mouth of the Columbia, he looked with confidence 
to ultimate success. Being able to reinforce and supply it amply 
by sea, he would push his interior posts in every direction up the 
rivers and along the coast ; supplying the natives at a lower rate, 
and thus gradually obliging the Northwest Company to give up the 
competition, relinquish New Caledonia, and retire to the other 
side of the mountains. He would then have possession of the 
trade, not merely of the Columbia and its tributaries, but of the 
regions farther north, quite to the Russian possessions. Such was 
a part of his brilliant and comprehensive plan. 

He now proceeded, with all diligence, to procure proper agents 
and coadjutors, habituated to the Indian trade and to the life of 
the wilderness. Among the clerks of the Northwest Comi^any 
were several of great capacity and experience, who had served 
out their probationary terms, but who, either through lack of in- 
terest and influence, or a want of vacancies, had not been pro- 
moted. They were consequently much dissatisfied, and ready for 
any employment in which their talents and acquirements might 
be turned to better account. 

Mr. Astor made his overtures to several of these persons, and 
three of them entered into his views. One of these, Mr. Alexan- 
der M'Kay, had accompanied Sir Alexander Mackenzie in both 
of his expeditions to the northwest coast of America in 1 789 and 
1793. The other two were Duncan M'Dougal and Donald 



PACIFIC FUR COMPANY. 43 



M'Kenzie. To these were subsequently added Mr. Wilson Price 
Hunt, of New-Jersey. As this gentleman was a native born 
citizen of the United States, a person of great probity and worth, 
he was selected by Mr. Astor to be his chief agent, and to reprc 
sent him in the contemplated establishment. 

On the 23d of June, 1810, articles of agreement were entered 
into between Mr. Astor and those four gentlemen, acting for 
themselves and for the several persons who had already agreed to 
become, or should thereafter become, associated under the firm of 
" The Pacific Fur Company." 

According to these articles, Mr. Astor was to be at the head 
of the company, and to manage its affairs in New- York. He was 
to furnish vessels, goods, provisions, arms, ammunition, and all 
other lequisites for the enterprise at first cost and charges, pro- 
vided that they did not, at any time, involve an advance of more 
than four hundred thousand dollars. 

The stock of the company was to be divided into a hundred 
equal shares, with the profits accruing thereon. Fifty shares 
were to be at the disposition of Mr. Astor, and the other fifty to 
be divided among the partners and their associates. 

Mr. Astor was to have tlie privilege of introducing other per- 
sons into the connection, as partners, two of whom, at least, 
should be conversant with the Indian trade, and none of them 
entitled to more than three shares. 

A general meeting of the company was to be held annually 
at Columbia River, for the investigation and regulation of its 
affairs ; at which absent members might be represented, and 
might vote by proxy under certain specified conditions. 

The association, if successful, was to continue for twenty 
years ; but the parties had full power to abandon and dissolve it 
within the first five years, should it be found unprofitable. For 
tills term Mr. Astor covenanted to bear all the loss that might be 



44 ASTORIA. 

incurred ; after whicli it was to bo borne by all the partners, in 
proportion to their respective shares. 

The parties of the second part were to execute faithfully such 
duties as might be assigned to them by a majority of the company 
on the northwest coast, and to repair to such place or places aa 
the majority might direct. 

An agent, appointed for the term of five years, was to reside 
at the principal establishment on the northwest coast, and Wilson 
Price Hunt was the one chosen for the first term. Should the 
interests of the concern at any time require his absence, a person 
was to be appointed, in general meeting, to take his place. 

Such were the leading conditions of this association ; we shall 
now proceed to relate the various hardy and eventful expeditions, 
by sea and land, to which it gave rise. 



TWO EXPEDITIONS SET ON FOOT. 45 



CHAPTER IV. 

In prosecuting liis great scheme of commerce and colonization, 
two expeditions were devised by Mr. Astor, one by sea, the otlier 
by land. The former was to carry out the people, stores, ammu- 
nition, and merchandise, requisite for establishing a fortified 
trading post at the mouth of Columbia River. The latter, con- 
ducted by Mr. Hunt, was to proceed up the Missouri, and across 
the Rocky Mountains, to the same point ; exploring a line of 
communication across the continent, and noting the places where 
interior trading posts might be established. The expedition by 
sea is the one which comes first under consideration. 

A fine ship was provided called the Tonquiu, of two hundred 
and ninety tons burden, mounting ten guns, with a crew of 
twenty men. She carried an assortment of merchandise for 
trading with the natives of the sea-board and of the interior, 
together Avith the frame of a schooner, to be employed in the 
coasting trade. Seeds also were provided for the cultivation of 
the soil, and nothing was neglected for the necessary supply of 
the establishment. The command of the ship was intrusted to 
Jonathan Thorn, of New- York, a lieutenant in the United States 
navy, on leave of absence. He was a man of courage and firm- 
ness, who had distinguished himself in our Tripolitan war, and 
from being accustomed to naval discipline, was considered by 
Mr. Astor as well fitted to take charge of an expedition of the 
kind. Four of the partners were to embark in the ship, namely, 
Messrs. M'Kay, M'Dougal, David Stuart, and his nephew, Robert 



4G ASTORIA. 



Stuart- Mr. M'Dougal was empowered by Mr. Astor to act as 
liis proxy in the absence of Mr. Hunt, to vote for liim and in his 
name, on any c|uestion that might come before any meeting of the 
persons interested in the voyage. 

Beside the partners, there were twelve clerks to go out in tho 
ship, several of them natives of Canada, who had some experience 
in Indian trade. They were bound to the service of the company 
for five years, at the rate of one hundred dollars a year, payable 
at the expiration of the term, and an annual equipment of cloth- 
ing to the amount of forty dollars. In case of ill conduct they 
were liable to forfeit their wages and be dismissed ; but, should 
they acquit themselves well, the confident expectation was held 
out to them of promotion, and partnership. Their interests were 
thus, to some extent, identified with those of the company. 

Several artisans were likewise to sail in the ship, for the sup- 
ply of the colony ; but the most peculiar and characteristic part 
of this motley embarkation consisted of thirteen Canadian " voy- 
ageurs," who had enlisted for five years. As this class of func- 
tionaries will continually recur in the course of the following 
narrations, and as they form one of those distinct and strongly 
marked castes or orders of people, springing up in this vast con- 
tinent out of geographical circumstances, or the varied pursuits, 
habitudes, and origins of its population, we shall sketch a few of 
their characteristics for the information of the reader. 

The " voyageurs" form a kind of confraternity in the Canadas, 
like the arrieros, or carriers of Spain, and, like them, are employed 
in long internal expeditions of travel and traffic : with this diifer 
ence, that the arrieros travel by land, the voyageurs by water'; 
the former with mules and horses, the latter with batteaux an(^ 
canoes. The voyageurs may be said to have sprung up out of 
the fur trade, having originally been employed by the early 
French merchants in their trading expeditions through the laby 



CANADIAN VOYAGEURS. 47 



riutli of rivers and lakes of the boundless interior. They were 
coeval with the coureurs cles bois, or rangers of the woods, already 
noticed, and, like them, in the intervals of their long, arduous, 
and laborious expeditions, were prone to pass their time in idle- 
ness and revelry about the trading posts or settlements ; squan- 
dering their hard earnings in heedless conviviality, and rivalling 
their neighbors, the Indians, in indolent indulgence and an im- 
prudent disregard of the morrow. 

When Canada passed under British domination, and the 
old French trading houses were broken up, the voyageurs, like 
the coureurs des bois, were for a time disheartened and disconso- 
late, and with difficulty could reconcile themselves to the service 
of the new comers, so different in habits, manners, and language 
from their former employers. By degrees, however, they became 
accustomed to the change, and at length came to consider the 
British fur traders, and especially the members of the Northwest 
Company, as the legitimate lords of creation. 

The dress of these people is generally half civilized, half sav- 
age. They wear a capot or surcoat, made of a blanket, a striped 
cotton shirt, cloth trowsers, or leathern ieggins, moccasons of 
deer-skin, and a belt of variegated worsted, from which are sus- 
pended the knife, tobacco-pouch, and other implements. Their 
language is of the same piebald character, being a French patois, 
embroidered with Indian and English words and phrases. 

The lives of the voyageurs are passed in wild and extensive 
rovings, in the service of individuals, but more especially of the 
fur traders. They are generally of French descent, and inherit 
much of the gayety and lightness of heart of their ancestors, 
being full of anecdote and song, and ever ready for the dance. 
They inherit, too, a fund of civility and complaisance ; and, 
instead of that hardness and grossness which men in laborious 
life are apt to indulge towards each other, they are mutually 



48 ASTORIA. 

obliging and accommodating ; interchanging kind offices, yielding 
each other assistance and comfort in every emergency, and using 
the familiar appellations of "cousin" and brother" when there 
is in fact no relationship. Their natural good-will is probably 
heightened by a community of adventure and hardship in their 
precarious and wandering life. 

No men are more submissive to their leaders and employers, 
more capable of enduring hardship, or more good-humored under 
privations. Never are they so happy as when on long and rough 
expeditions, toiling up rivers or coasting lakes ; encamping at 
night on the borders, gossiping round their fires, and bivouacking 
in the open air. They are dextrous boatmen, vigorous and adroit 
with the oar and paddle, and will row from morning until night 
without a murmur. The steersman often sings an old tradition- 
ary French song, with some regular burden in which they all 
join, keeping time with their oars ; if at any time they flag in 
spirits or relax in exertion, it is but necessary to strike up a 
song of the kind to put them all in fresh spirits and activity. 
The Canadian waters are vocal with these little French chansons, 
that have been echoed from mouth to mouth and transmitted from 
father to son, from the earliest days of the colony ; and it has a 
pleasing effect, in a still golden summer evening, to see a batteau 
gliding across the bosom of a lake and dipping its oars to the 
cadence of these quaint old ditties, or sweeping along in full 
chorus on a bright sunny morning, down the transparent current 
of one of the Canada rivers. 

But we are talking of things that are fast fading away ! The 
march of mechanical invention is driving every thing poetical be- 
fore it. The steamboats, which are fast dispelling the wildness 
and romance of our lakes and rivers, and aiding to subdue the 
world into commonplace, are proving as fatal to the race of the 
Canadian voyageurs as they have been to that of the boatmen of 



BOATING AND BOASTING. 49 



the Mississippi. Their glory is departed. They are no longer 
the lords of our internal seas, and the great navigators of the 
wilderness. Some of them may still occasionally be seen coasting 
the lower lakes with their frail barks, and pitching their camps 
and lighting their fires upon the shores ; but their range is fast 
contracting to those remote waters and shallow and obstructed 
rivers unvisited by the steamboat. In the course of years they 
will gradually disappear ; their songs will die away like the 
echoes they once awakened, and the Canadian voyageurs will be- 
come a forgotten race, or remembered, like their associates, the 
Indians, among the poetical images of past times, and as themes 
for local and romantic associations. 

An instance of the buoyant temperament and the professional 
pride of these people was furnished in the gay and braggart style 
in which they arrived at New-York to join the enterprise. They 
were determined to regale and astonish the people of the " States" 
with the sight of a Canadian boat and a Canadian crew. They 
accordingly fitted up a large but light bark canoe ' - ^*o used 
in the fur trade ; transported it in a wagon from i. ^ of ..ak. 

St. Lawrence to the shores of Lake Champlai : ^ed the 
lake in it, from end to end; hoisted it again . ■ :. .,on -x.. 
wheeled it off to Lansingburgh, and there launched it upon the 
waters of the Hudson. Down this river they plied their course 
merrily on a fine summer's day, making its banks resound for the 
first time with their old French boat songs ; passing by the vil- 
lages with whoop and halloo, so as to make the honest Dutch 
farmers mistake them for a crew of savages. In this way they 
swept, in full song, and with regular flourish of the paddle, round 
New- York, in a still summer evening, to the wonder and admira- 
tion of its inhabitants, who had never before witnessed on their 
waters, a nautical apparition of the kind. 

Such was the variegated band of adventurers about to embark 



50 ASTORIA. 

in the Tonquin on this arduous and doubtful enterprise. While 
yet in port and on dry land, in the bustle of preparation and the 
excitement of novelty, all was sunshine and promise. The Cana- 
dians, especially, who, with their constitutional vivacity, have a 
considerable dash of the gascon, were buoyant and boastful, and 
great braggarts as to the future ; while all those who had been 
in the service of the Northwest Company, and engaged in the 
Indian trade, plumed themselves upon their hardihood and their 
capacity to endure privations. If Mr. Astor ventured to hint at 
the difficulties they might have to encounter, they treated them 
with scorn. They were '■ northwesters ;" men seasoned to hard- 
ships, who cared for neither wind nor weather. They could live 
hard, lie hard, sleep hard, eat dogs ! — in a word they were read;j 
to do and suffer any thing for the good of the enterprise. With 
all this profession of zeal and devotion, Mr. Astor was not over- 
confident of the stability and firm faith of these mercurial beings 
He had received information, also, that an armed brig from Hali 
fax, probably at the instigation of the Northwest Company, was 
hovering on the coast, watching for the Touquin, with the pur- 
pose of impressing the Canadians on board of her, as British 
subjects, and thus interrupting the voyage. It was a time of 
doubt and anxiety, when the relations between the United States 
and Great Britain were daily assuming a more j)reearious aspect, 
and verging towards that war which shortly ensued. As a j^re- 
cautionary measure, therefore, he required that the voyageurs, as 
they were about to enter into the service of an American associa- 
tion, and to reside within the limits of the United States, should 
take the oaths of naturalization as American citizens. To this 
they readily agreed, and shortly afterward assured him that they 
had actually done so. It was not until after they had sailed 
that he discovered that they had entirely deceived him in the 
matter. 



PARTING ADMONITIONS. 53 



The confidence of Mr. Astor was abused in another quarter. 
Two of the partners, both of them Scotchmen, and recently in 
the service of the Northwest Company, had misgivings as to an 
enterprise which might clash with the interests and establish- 
ments protected by the British flag. They privately waited upon 
the British minister, Mr. Jackson, then in New-York, laid open 
to him the whole scheme of Mr. Astor, though intrusted to them 
in confidence, and dependent, in a great measure, upon secrecy 
at the outset for its success, and inquired whether they, as British 
subjects, could lawfully engage in it. The reply satisfied their 
scruples, while the information they imparted excited the surprise 
and admiration of Mr. Jackson, that a private individual should 
have conceived and set on foot at his own risk and expense so 
great an enterprise. 

This step on the part of those gentlemen was not known to 
Mr. Astor until sonde time afterwards, or it might have modified 
the trust and confidence reposed in them. 

To guard against any interruption to the voyage by the armed 
brig, said to be off the harbor, Mr. Astor applied to Commodore 
Bodgers, at that time commanding at New-York, to give the Ton- 
quin safe convoy ofi" the coast. The commodore having received 
from a high ofiicial source assurance of the deep interest which 
the government took in the enterprise, sent directions to Captain 
Hull, at that time cruising off the harbor, in the frigate Consti- 
tution, to afford the Tonquin the required protection when she 
should put to sea. 

Before the day of embarkation, Mr. Astor addressed a letter 
of instruction to the four partners who were to sail in the ship. 
In this he enjoined them, in the most earnest manner, to cultivate 
harmony and unanimity, and recommended that all differences of 
opinions on points connected with the objects and interests of the 
voyage should be discussed by the whole, and decided by a ma- 



52 ASTORIA. 

jority of votes. He, moreover, gave them especial caution as to 
their conduct on arriving at their destined port ; exhorting them 
to be careful to make a favorable impression upon the wild people 
among whom their lot and the fortunes of the enterprise would 
be cast. " If you find them kind," said he, " as I hope you will, 
be so to them. If otherwise, act with caution and forbearance, 
and convince them that you come as friends." 

With the same anxious forethought he wrote a letter of instruc- 
tions to Captain Thorn, in which he urged the strictest attention 
to the health of himself and his crew, and to the promotion of 
good-humor and harmony on board his ship. " To prevent any 
misunderstanding," added he, " will require your particular good 
management." His letter closed with an injunction of wariness 
in his intercourse with the natives, a subject on which Mr. Astor 
was justly sensible he could not be too earnest. " I must recom- 
mend you," said he, " to be particularly careful on the coast, and 
not to rely too much on the friendly disposition of the natives. 
All accidents which have as yet happened there arose from too 
much confidence in the Indians." 

The reader will bear these instructions in mind, as events will 
prove their wisdom and importance, and the disasters which en- 
sued in consequence of the neglect of them. 



SAILING OF THE TONQUIN. 53 



CHAPTER V. 

On the eighth of September, 1810, the Tonquin put to sea, whore 
she was soon joined by the frigate Constitution. The wind was 
fresh and fair from the southwest, and the ship was soon out of 
sight of land and free from the apprehended danger of interrup- 
tion. The frigate, therefore, gave her " God speed," and left her 
to her course. 

The harmony so earnestly enjoined by Mr. Astor on this 
heterogeneous crew, and which had been so confidently promised 
in the buoyant moments of preparation, was doomed to meet with 
a check at the very outset. 

Captain Thorn was an honest, straightforward, but some- 
what dry and dictatorial commander, who, having been nurtured 
in the system and discipline of a ship of war, and in a sacred 
opinion of the supremacy of the quarter-deck, was disposed to be 
absolute lord and master on board of his ship. He appears, 
moreover, to have had no great opinion, from the first, of the per- 
sons embarked with him. He had stood by with surly contempt 
while they vaunted so bravely to Mr. Astor of all they could do 
and all they could undergo ; how they could face all weathers, put 
up with all kinds of fare, and even eat dogs with a relish, when 
no better food was to be had. He had set them down .as a set of 
landlubbers and braggadocios, and was disposed to treat them 
accordingly. Mr. Astor was, in his eyes, his only real employer 
being the father of the enterprise, who furnished all funds and 
bore all losses. The others were mere agents and subordinates, 



54 ASTORIA. 

wlio lived at Lis expense. He evidently had but a narrow idea 
of the scope and nature of the enterprise, limiting his views 
merely to his part of it ; every thing beyond the concerns of his 
ship was out of his sphere ; and any thing that interfered with 
the routine of his nautical duties put him in a passion. 

The partners, on the other hand, had been brought up in the 
service of the Northwest Company, and in a profound idea of the 
importance, dignity, and authority of a partner. They already 
began to consider themselves on a par with the M'Tavishes, the 
M'Gillivrays, the Frobishers, and the other magnates of the 
northwest, whom they had been accustomed to look up to as the 
great ones of the earth ; and they were a little disposed, perhaps, 
to wear their suddenly-acquired honors with some air of preten- 
sion. Mr. Astor, too, had put them on their mettle with respect 
to the captain, describing him as a gunpowder fellow who would 
command his ship in fine style, and, if there was any fighting to 
do, would "blow all out of the water." 

Thus prepared to regard each other with no very cordial eye, 
it is not to be wondered at that the parties soon came into colli- 
sion. On the very first night Captain Thorn began his man-of- 
war discipline by ordering the lights in the cabin to be extin- 
guished at eight o'clock. 

The pride of the partners was immediately in arms. This 
was an invasion of their rights and dignities not to be borne. 
They were on board of their own ship, and entitled to consult 
their ease and enjoyment. M'Dougal was the champion of their 
cause. He was an active, irritable, fuming, vainglorious little 
man, and elevated in his own opinion, by being the proxy of Mr. 
Astor. A violent altercation ensued, in the course of which 
Thorn threatened to put the partners in irons should they prove 
refractory ; upon which M'Dougal seized a pistol and swore to be 
the death of the captain should he ever offer such an indignity. 



LANDSMEN AT SEA. 55 



It was some time before the irritated parties could be pacified by 
the more temperate bystanders. 

Such was the captain's outset with the partners. Nor did the 
clerks stand much higher in his good graces ; indeed, he seems 
to have regarded all the landsmen on board his ship as a kind of 
live lumber, continually in the way. The poor voyageurs, too, 
continually irritated his spleen by their " lubberly " and un- 
seemly habits, so abhorrent to one accustomed to the cleanliness 
of a man-of-war. These poor fresh-water sailors, so vainglorious 
on shore, and almost amphibious when on lakes and rivers, lost 
all heart and stomach the moment they were at sea. For days 
they sufi'ered the doleful rigors and retchings of sea-sickness, 
lurking below in their berths in squalid state, or emerging now 
and then like spectres from the hatchways, in capotes and blan- 
kets, with dirty nightcaps, grizzly beard, lantern visage and un- 
happy eye, shivering about the deck, and ever and anon crawling 
to the sides of the vessel, and offering up their tributes to the 
windward, to the infinite annoyance of the captain. 

His letters to Mr. Astor, wherein he pours forth the bitterness 
of his soul, and his seamanlike impatience of what he considers 
the " lubberly " character and conduct of those around him, are 
before us, and are amusingly characteristic. The honest captain 
is full of vexation on his own account, and solicitude on account 
of Mr. Aster, whose property he considers at the mercy of a most 
heterogeneous and wasteful crew. 

As to the clerks, he pronounces them mere pretenders, not 
one of whom had ever been among the Indians, nor farther to 
the northwest than Montreal, nor of higher rank than barkeeper 
of a tavern or marker of a billiard-table, excepting one, who had 
been a schoolmaster, and whom he emphatically sets down for " as 
foolish a pedant as ever lived." 

Then as to the artisans and laborers who had been brought 



56 ASTORIA. 

from Canada and shipped at such expense, the three most 
respectable, according to the captain's account, were culprits, 
who had fled from Canada on account of their misdeeds ; the 
rest had figured in Montreal as draymen, barbers, waiters, and 
carriole drivers, and were the most helpless, worthless beings 
" that ever broke sea-biscuit." 

It may easily be imagined what a series of misunderstandings 
and cross-purposes would be likely to take place between such a 
crew and such a commander. The captain, in his zeal for the 
health and cleanliness of his ship, would make sweeping visita- 
tions to the "lubber nests" of the unlucky "voyageurs" and 
their companions in misery, ferret them out of their berths, make 
them air and wash themselves and their accoutrements, and 
oblige them to stir about briskly and take exercise. 

Nor did his disgust and vexation cease when all hands had 
recovered from sea-sickness, and become accustomed to the ship, 
for now broke out an alarming keenness of appetite that threat- 
ened havoc to the provisions. What especially irritated the 
captain was the daintiness of some of his cabin passengers. 
They were loud in their complaints of the ship's fare, though 
their table was served with fresh pork, hams, tongues, smoked 
beef, and puddings. " When thwarted in their cravings for deli- 
cacies," said he, " they would exclaim that it was d — d hard they 
could not live as they pleased upon their own property, being on 
board of their own ship, freighted with their own merchandise. 
And these," added he, '■ are the fine fellows who made such boast 
that they could ' eat dogs.' " 

In his indignation at what he termed their effeminacy, he 
would swear that he would never take them to sea again " with- 
out having Fly-market on the forecastle, Covent-garden on the 
poop, and a cool spring from Canada in the maintop." 

As they proceeded on their voyage and got into the smooth 



A VETERAN FROM LABRADOR. 57 



seas and pleasant weather of tlie tropics, other annoyances oc- 
curred to vex the spirit of the captain. He had been crossed by 
the irritable mood of one of the partners ; he was now excessively 
annoyed by the good-humor of another. This was the elder Stu- 
art, who was an easy soul, and of a social disposition. He had 
seen life in Canada, and on the coast of Labrador ; had been a 
fur trader in the former, and a fisherman on the latter ; and, in 
the course of his experience, had made various expeditions with 
voyageurs. He was accustomed, therefore, to the familiarity 
which prevails between that class and their superiors, and the 
gossipings which take place among them when seated round a 
fire at their encampments. Stuart was never so happy as when 
he could seat himself on the deck with a number of these rL.en 
round him, in camping style, smoke together, passing the pipe 
from mouth to mouth, after the manner of the Indians, sing old 
Canadian boat-songs, and tell stories about their hardships and 
adventures, in the course of which he rivalled Sindbad in his 
long tales of the sea, about his fishing exploits on the coast of 
Labrador. 

This gossiping familiarity shocked the captain's notions of 
rank and subordination, and nothing was so abhorrent to him as 
the community of pipe between master and man, and their min 
gling in chorus in the outlandish boat-songs. 

Then there was another whimsical source of annoyance to 
him. Some of t'he young clerks, who were making their first 
voyage, and to whom every thing was new and strange, were, 
very rationally, in the habit of taking notes and keeping jour- 
nals. This was a sore abomination to the honest captain, who 
held their literary pretensions in great contempt. " The collect- 
ing of materials for long histories of their voyages and travels," 
said he, in his letter to Mr. Astor, " appears to engross most of 
their attention." We can conceive what must have been the 



58 ASTORIA. 

crusty impatience of the worthy navigator, when, on any trifling 
occurrence in the course of the voyage, quite commonplace in his 
eyes, he saw these young landsmen running to record it in their 
journals ; and what indignant glances he must have cast to right 
and left, as he worried about the deck, giving out his orders for 
the management of the ship, surrounded by singing, smoking, 
gossiping, scribbling groups, all, as he thought, intent upon ths 
amusement of the passing hour, instead of the great purposes 
and interests of the voyage. 

It is possible the captain was in some degree right in his 
notions. Though some of the passengers had much to gain by 
the voyage, none of them had any thing positively to lose. They 
were mostly young men, in the heyday of life ; and having got 
into fine latitudes, upon smooth seas, with a well-stored ship 
under them, and a fair wind in the shoulder of the sail, they 
seemed to have got into a holiday world, and were disposed to 
enjoy it. That craving desire, natural to untravelled men of 
fresh and lively minds, to see strange lands, and to visit scenes 
famous in history or fable, was expressed by some of the partners 
and clerks, with respect to some of the storied coasts and islands 
that lay within their route. The captain, however, who regarded 
every coast and island with a matter-of-fact eye, and had no 
more associations connected with them than those laid down in 
his sea-chart, considered all this curiosity as exceedingly idle and 
childish. " In the first part of the voyage," says he in his letter, 
" they were determined to have it said they had been in Africa, 
and therefore insisted on my stopping at the Cape de Verds. 
Next they said the ship should stop on the coast of Patagonia, 
for they must see the large and uncommon inhabitants of that 
place. Then they must go to the island where Robinson Crusoe 
had so long lived. And lastly, they were determined to see the 
handsome inhabitants of Easter Island." 



CURIOUS TRAVELLERS. 59 



To all these resolves the captain opposed his peremptory 
veto, as " contrary to instructions." Then would break forth an 
unavailing explosion of wrath on the part of certain of the part- 
ners, in the course of which they did not even spare Mr. Astor 
for his act of supererogation in furnishing orders for the control 
of the ship while they were on board, instead of leaving them to 
be the judges where it would be best for her to touch, and how 
long to remain. The choleric M'Dougal took the lead in these 
railings, being, as has been observed, a little puffed up with the 
idea of being Mi'. Astor's proxy. 

The captain, however, became only so much the more crusty 
and dogged in his adherence to his orders, and touchy and harsh 
in his dealings with his passengers, and frequent altercations 
ensued. He may in some measure have been influenced by his 
seamanlike impatience of the interference of landsmen, and his 
high notions of naval etiquette and quarter-deck authority ; but 
he evidently had an honest, trusty concern for the interests of 
his. employer. He pictured to himself the anxious projector of 
the enterprise, who had disbursed so munificently in its outfit, 
calculating on the zeal, fidelity, and singleness of purpose of his 
associates and agents ; while they, on the other hand, having a 
good ship at their disposal, and a deep pocket at home to bear 
them out, seemed ready to loiter on every coast, and amuse them- 
selves in every port. 

On the fourth of December they came in sight of the Falk- 
land Islands. Having been for some time on an allowance of 
water, it was resolved to anchor here and obtain a supply. A 
boat was sent into a small bay to take soundings. Mr. M'Dougal 
and Mr. M'Kay took this occasion to go on shore, but with a re- 
quest from the captain that they would not detain the ship. Once 
on shore, however, they were in no haste to obey his orders, but 
rambled about in search of curiosities. The anchorage proving 



60 ASTORIA. 



unsafe, and water difficult to be procured, tlie captain stood out 
to sea. and made repeated signals for those on shore to rejoin 
the ship, hut it was not until nine at night that they came on 
board. 

The wind being adverse, the boat was again sent on shore on 
the following morning, and the same gentlemen again landed, but 
promised to come off at a moment's warning ; they again forgot 
their promise in their eager pursuit of wild geese and sea-wolves. 
After a time the wind hauled fair, and signals were made for the 
boat. Half an hour elapsed but no boat put off. The captain 
reconnoitred the shore with his glass, and, to his infinite vexa- 
tion, saw the loiterers in the full enjoyment of their "wild-goose- 
chase." Nettled to the quick, he immediately made sail. When 
those on shore saw the ship actually under way, they embarked 
with all speed, but had a hard pull of eight miles before they 
got on board, and then experienced but a grim reception, not- 
withstanding that they came well laden with the spoils of the 
chase. 

Two days afterwards, on the seventh of December, they 
anchored at Port Egmont, in the same island, where they re- 
mained four days taking in water and making repairs. This was 
a joyous time for the landsmen. They pitched a tent on shore, 
had a boat at their command, and passed their time merrily in 
rambling about the island, and coasting along the shores, shoot- 
ing sea-lions, seals, foxes, geese, ducks, and penguins. None 
were keener in pursuit of this kind of game than M'Dougal 
and David Stuart; the latter was reminded of aquatic sports 
on the coast of Labrador, and his hunting exploits in the north 
west. 

In the meantime the captain addressed himself steadily to the 
business of his ship, scorning the holiday spirit and useless pur- 
suits of his emancipated messmates, and warning them, from time 



SPORTSMEN IN THE LURCH. 61 



to time, not to wander away nor be out of hail. They promised, 
as usual, that the ship should never experience a moment's deten- 
tion on their account, but, as usual, forgot their promise. 

On the morning of the 1 1th, the repairs being all finished, 
and the water casks replenished, the signal was given to embark, 
and the ship began to weigh anchor. At this time several of the 
passengers were dispersed about the island, amusing themselves 
in various ways. Some of the young men had found two inscrip- 
tions, in English, over a place where two unfortunate mariners 
had been buried in this desert island. As the inscriptions were 
nearly worn out by time and weather, they were playing the part 
of " Old Mortality," and piously renewing them. The signal 
from the ship summoned them from their labors ; they saw the 
sails unfurled, and that she was getting under way. The two 
sporting partners, however, Mr. M'Dougal and David Stuart, had 
strolled away to the south of the island in pursuit of penguins. 
It would never do to put off without them, as there was but one 
boat to convey the whole. 

While this delay took place on shore, the captain was storm- 
ing on board. This was the third time his orders had been 
treated with contempt, and the ship wantonly detained, and it 
should be the last ; so he spread all sail and put to sea, swearing 
he would leave the laggards to shift for themselves. It was in 
vain that those on board made remonstrances and entreaties, and 
represented the horrors of abandoning men upon a sterile and 
uninhabited island : the sturdy captain was inflexible. 

In the meantime the penguin hunters had joined the engravers 
of tombstones, but not before the ship was already out at sea 
They all, to the number of eight, threw themselves nnto their 
boat, which was about twenty feet in length, and rowed with 
might and main. For three hours and a half did they tug anx- 
iously and severely at the oar, swashed occasionally by the surg- 



63 ASTORIA. 



ing waves of the open sea, while the ship inexorably kept on her 
course, and seemed determined to leave them behind. 

On board of the ship was the nephew of David Stuart, a young 
man of spirit and resolution. Seeing, as he thought, the captain 
obstinately bent upon abandoning his uncle and the others, he 
seized a pistol, and in a paroxysm of wrath swore he would blow 
out the captain's brains, unless ho put about or shortened sail. 

Fortunately for all parties, the wind just then came ahead, 
and the boat was enabled to reach the ship ; otherwise, disastrous 
circumstances might have ensued. We can hardly believe that 
the captain really intended to carry his threat into full effect, and 
rather think he meant to let the laggards off for a long pull and 
a hearty fright. He declared, however, in his letter to Mr. 
Astor, that he was serious in his threats ; and there is no know- 
ing how far such an iron man may push his notions of authority. 

" Had the wind," writes he, " (unfortunately) not hauled ahead 
soon after leaving the harbor's mouth, I should positively have 
left them ; and, indeed, I cannot but think it an unfortunate cir- 
cumstance for you that it so happened, for the first loss in this 
instance would, in my opinion, have proved the best, as they 
seem to have no idea of the value of property, nor any apparent 
regard for your interest, although interwoven with their own." 

This, it must be confessed, was acting with a high hand, and 
carrying a regard to the owner's property to a dangerous length. 
Various petty feuds occurred also between him and the partners 
in respect to the goods on board the ship, some articles of which 
they wished to distribute for clothing among the men, or for other 
purposes which they deemed essential. The captain, however, 
kept a mastiff watch upon the cargo, and growled and snapped 
if they but offered to touch box or bale. " It was contrary to 
orders ; it would forfeit his insurance ; it was out of all rule." 
It was in vain they insisted upon their right to do so, as part 



ARRIVAL AT OWYHEE. 63 



owners, and as acting for the good of the enterprise ; the captain 
only stuck to his point the more stanchly. They consoled them- 
selves, therefore, by declaring, that as soon as they made land 
they would assert their rights, and do with ship and cargo as they 
pleased. 

Beside these feuds between the captain and the partners, 
there were feuds between the partners themselves, occasioned, in 
some measure, by jealousy of rank. M'Dougal and M'Kay began 
to draw plans for the fort, and other buildings of the intended 
establishment. They agreed very well as to the outline and 
dimensions, which were on a sufficiently grand scale ; but when 
they came to arrange the details, fierce disputes arose, and they 
would quarrel by the hour about the distribution of the doors 
and windows. Many were the hard words and hard names ban- 
died between them on these occasions, according to the captain's 
account. Each accused the other of endeavoring to assume 
unwarrantable power, and to take the lead ; upon which Mr. 
M'Dougal would vauntingly lay down Mr. Astor's letter, con 
stituting him his representative and proxy, a document not to be 
disputed. 

These wordy contests, though violent, were brief ; " and 
within fifteeen minutes," says the captain, " they would be caress- 
ing each other lik ■ children." 

While all this petty anarchy was agitating the little world 
witnin the Tonquin, the good ship prosperously pursued her 
course, doubled Cape Horn on the 25th of December, careered 
across the bosom of the Pacific, until, on the 11th of February, 
the snowy peaks of Owyhee were seen brightening above the 
horizon. 



64 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER VI. 

OwYHEEj or Hawaii, as it is written by more exact orthogra- 
phers, is the largest of the cluster, ten in number, of the Sand- 
wich Islands. It is about ninety-seven miles in length, and 
seventy-eight in breadth, rising gradually into three pyramidal 
summits or cones; the highest, Mouna Roa, being eighteen 
thousand feet above the level of the sea, so as to domineer over 
the whole Archipelago, and to be a landmark over a wide extent 
of ocean. It remains a lasting monument of the enterprising 
and unfortunate Captain Cook, who was murdered by the natives 
of this island. 

The Sandwich Islanders, when first discovered, evinced a 
character superior to most of the savages of the Pacific Isles. 
They were frank and open in their deportment, friendly and 
liberal in their dealings, with an apt ingenuity apparent in all 
their rude inventions. 

The tragical fate of the discoverer, which, for a time, brought 
them under the charge of ferocity, was, in fact, the result of sud- 
den exasperation, caused by the seizure of their chief. 

At the time of the visit of the Tonquin, the islanders had 
profited, in many respects, by occasional intercourse with white 
men ; and had shown a quickness to observe and cultivate those 
arts important to their mode of living. Originally they had no 
means of navigating the seas by which they were surrounded, 
superior to light pirogues, which were little competent to con- 
tend with the storms of the broad ocean. As the islanders are 



TAMAAHMAAH— HIS NAVY. 65 



not in sigtt of each other, there could, therefore, be but casual 
intercourse between them. The traffic with white men had put 
them in possession of vessels of superior description ; they had 
made themselves acquainted with their management, and had 
even made rude advances in the art of ship-building. 

These improvements had been promoted, in a great measure, 
by the energy and sagacity of one man, the famous Tamaahmaah. 
He had originally been a petty eri, or chief; but, being of an in- 
trepid and aspiring nature, he had risen in rank, and, availing 
himself of the --superior advantages now aflforded in navigation, 
had brought the whole Archipelago in subjection to his arms. 
At the time of the arrival of the Tonquin he had about forty 
' schooners, of from twenty to thirty tons burden, and one old 
American ship. With these he maintained undisputed sway over 
his insular domains, and carried on an intercourse with the chiefs 
or governors whom he had placed in command of the several 
islands. 

The situation of this group of islands, far in the bosom of the 
vast Pacific, and their abundant fertility, rendered tLem impor- 
tant stopping places on the highway to China, or to the northwest 
coast of America. Here the vessels engaged in the fur trade 
touched to make repairs and procure provisions ; and here they 
often sheltered themselves during the winters that occurred in 
their long coasting expeditions. 

The British navigators were, from the first, aware of the value 
of these islands to the purposes of commerce ; and Tamaahmaah, 
not long after he had attained the sovereign sway, was persuaded 
by Vancouver, the celebrated discoverer, to acknowledge, on behalf 
of himself and subjects, allegiance to the king of Great Britain. 
The reader cannot but call to mind the visit which the royal 
family and court of the Sandwich Islands was, in late years, in- 
duced to make to the court of St. James ; and the serio-comio 



66 ASTORIA. 

ceremonials and mock parade -wliicli attended that singular tra 
vesty of monarchal style. 

It was a part of the wide and comprehensive plan of Mr. 
Astor to establish a friendly intercourse between these islands 
and his intended colony, which might, for a time, have occasion to 
draw supplies thence ; and he even had a vague idea of, some 
time or other, getting possession of one of their islands as a ren 
dezvous for his ships, and a link in the chain of his commercial 
establishments. 

On the evening of the 12th of February, the Tonquin an- 
chored in the bay of Karakakooa, in the island of Owyhee. The 
surrounding shores were wild and broken, with overhanging cliffs 
and precipices of black volcanic rock. Beyond these, however, 
the country was fertile and well cultivated, with inclosures of 
yams, plantains, sweet potatoes, sugar-canes, and other produc- 
tions of warm climates and teeming soils ; and the numerous 
habitations of the natives were pleasantly sheltered beneath 
clumps of cocoanut and bread-fruit trees, which afforded both 
food and shade. This mingled variety of garden and grove swept 
gradually up the sides of the mountains^ until succeeded by 
dense forests, which in turn gave place to naked and craggy rocks, 
until the summits rose into the regions of perpetual snow. 

The royal residence of Tamaahmaah was at this time at 
another island named Woahoo. The island of Owyh.ee was 
under the command of one of his eris, or chiefs, who resided at 
the village of Tocaigh, situated on a different part of the coast 
from the bay of Karakakooa. 

On the morning after her arrival, the ship was surrounded 
by canoes and pirogues, filled with the islanders cf both sexes, 
bringing off' supplies of fruits and vegetables, bananas, plantains, 
watermelons, yams, cabbages, and taro. The captain was desi- 
rous, however, of purchasing a number of hogs, but there were 



wo AHOO— ROYAL MONOPOLY. 67 



none to be had. The trade in pork was a royal monopoly, and 
no subject of the great Tamaahmaah dared to meddle with it. 
Such provisions as they could furnish, however, were brought by 
the natives in abundance, and a lively intercourse was kept up 
during the day, in which the women mingled in the kindest 
manner. 

The islanders are a comely race, of a copper complexion. 
The men are tall and well made, with forms indicating strength 
and activity ; the women with regular and occasionally handsome 
features, and a lascivious expression, characteristic of their tem- 
perament. Their style of dress was nearly the same as in the 
days of Captain Cook. The men wore the maro, a band one foot 
in width and several feet in length, swathed round the loins, and 
formed of tappa, or cloth of bark ; the kihei, or mantle, about six 
feet square, tied in a knot over one shoulder, passed under the 
opposite arm, so as to leave it bare, and falling in graceful folds 
before and behind, to the knee, so as to bear some resemblance 
to a Roman toga. 

The female dress consisted of the pau, a garment formed of a 
piece of tappa, several yards in length and one in width, wrapped 
round the waist, and reaching like a petticoat, to the knees. Over 
this a kihei or mantle, larger than that of the men, sometimes 
worn over both shoulders, like a shawl, sometimes over one only. 
These mantles were seldom worn by either sex duriug the heat 
of the day, when the exposure of their persons was at first very 
revolting to a civilized eye. 

Towards evening several of the partners and clerks went on 
shore, where they were well received and hospitably entertained. 
A dance was performed for their amusement, in which nineteen 
young women and one man figured very gracefully, singing in 
concert, and moving to the cadence of their song. 

All this, however, was nothing to the purpose in the eyes of 



G8 . ASTORIA. 

Captain Thorn, wlio, being disappointed in his hope of obtaining 
a supply of pork, or finding good water, was anxious to be oif. 
This it was not so easy to effect. The passengers, once on shore, 
were disposed, as usual, to profit by the occasion. The partners 
had many inquiries to make relative to the island, with a view to 
business ; while the young clerks were delighted with the charms 
and graces of the dancing damsels. 

To add to their gratifications, an old man offered to conduct 
them to the spot where Captain Cook was massacred. The propo- 
sition was eagerly accepted, and all hands set out on a pilgrimage 
to the place. The veteran islander performed his promise faith- 
fully, and pointed out the very spot where the unfortunate dis- 
coverer fell. The rocks and cocoa trees around bore record of 
the fact, in the marks of the balls fired from the boats upon the 
savages. The pilgrims gathered round the old man, and drew 
from him all the particulars he had to relate respecting this 
memorable event ; while the honest captain stood by and bit his 
nails with impatience. To add to his vexation, they employed 
themselves in knocking off pieces of the rocks, and cutting off the 
bark of the trees marked by the balls, which they conveyed back 
to the ship as precious relics. 

Right glad, therefore, was he to get them and their treasures 
fairly on board, when he made sail from this unprofitable place, 
and steered for the Bay of Tocaigh, the residence of the chief or 
governor of the island, where he hoped to be more successful in 
obtaining supplies. On coming to anchor the captain went on 
shore, accompanied by Mr. M'Dougal and Mr. M'Kay, and paid 
a visit to the governor. This dignitary proved to be an old 
sailor, by the name of John Young ; who, after being tossed 
about the seas like another Sindbad, had, by one of the whimsical 
freaks of fortune, been elevated to the government of a savage 
island He received his visitors with more hearty familiarity 



A NAUTICAL GOVERNOR. 69 



than personages in Lis liigh station are apt to indulge, but soon 
gave them to understand that provisions were scanty at Tocaigh, 
and that there was no good water, no rain having fallen in the 
neigh'jorhood in three years. 

The captain was immediately for breaking up the conference 
and departing, but the partners were not so willing to part with 
the nautical governor, who seemed disposed to be extremely com- 
municative, and from whom they might be able to procure some 
useful information. A long conversation accordingly ensued, in 
the course of which they made many inc^uiries about the affairs 
of the islands, their natural productions, and the possibility of 
turning them to advantage in the way of trade ; nor did they fail 
to inquire into the individual history of John Young, and how he 
came to be governor. This he gave with great condescension, 
running through the whole course of his fortunes " even from his 
boyish days." 

He was a native of Liverpool, in England, and had followed 
the sea from boyhood, until, by dint of good conduct, he had 
risen so far in his profession as to be boatswain of an American 
ship called the Eleanor, commanded by Captain Metcalf In this 
vessel he had sailed in 1789, on one of those casual expeditions 
to the northwest coast, in quest of furs. In the course of the 
voyage, the captain left a small schooner, named the Fair Ameri- 
can, at Nootka, with a crew of five men, commanded by his son, 
a youth of eighteen. She was to follow on in the track of the 
Eleanor. 

In February, 1790, Captain Metcalf touched at the island of 
Mowee, one of the Sandwich group. While anchored here, a 
boat which was astern of the Eleanor was stolen, and a seaman 
who was in it was killed. The natives, generally, disclaimed the 
outrage, and brought the shattered remains of the boat and the 
dead body of the seaman to the ship. Supposing that they had 



70 ASTORIA. 

thus appeased the anger of the captain, they thronged, as usual- 
in great numbers about the vessel, to trade. Captain Metcalf, 
however, determined on a bloody revenge. The Eleanor mounted 
ten guns. All these he ordered to be loaded with musket-balls, 
nails, and pieces of old iron, and then fired them, and the small- 
arms of the ship, among the natives. The havoc was dreadful ; 
more than a hundred, according to Young's account, were slain. 

After this signal act of vengeance. Captain Metcalf sailed 
from Mowee, and made for the island of Owyhee, where he was 
well received by Tamaahmaah. The fortunes of this warlike 
chief were at that time on the rise. He had originally been of 
inferior rank, ruling over only one or two districts of Owyhee 
but had gradually made himself sovereign of his native island. 

The Eleanor remained some few days at anchor here, and an 
apparently friendly intercourse was kept up with the inhabitants. 
On the 17th March, John Young obtained permission to pass the 
night on shore. On the following morning a signal-gun sum- 
moned him to return on board. 

He went to the shore to embark, but found all the canoes 
hauled up on the beach and rigorously tabooed, or interdicted. 
He would have launched one himself, but was informed by Ta- 
maahmaah that if he presumed to do so he would be put to death. 

Young was obliged to submit, and remained all day in great 
perplexity to account for this mysterious taboo, and fearful that 
some hostility was intended. In the evening he learned the cause 
of it. and his uneasiness was increased. It appeared that the 
vindictive act of Captain Metcalf had recoiled upon his own head. 
The schooner Fair American, commanded by his son, following in 
his track, had fallen into the hands of the natives to the south- 
ward of Tocaigh Bay, and young Metcalf and four of the crew 
had been massacred. 

On receiving intelligence of this event, Tamaahmaah had im- 



PROMOTION IN SAVAGE LIFE. 71 



mediately tabooed all the canoes, and interdicted all intercourse 
with the ship, lest the captain should learn the fate of the schooner, 
and tahe his revenge upon the island. For the same reason he 
prevented Young from rejoining his countrymen. The Eleanor 
continued to fire signals from time to time for two days, and then 
sailed ; concluding, no doubt, that the boatswain had deserted. 

John Young was in despair when he saw the ship make sail, 
and found himself abandoned among savages ; — and savages, too, 
sanguinary in their character, and inflamed by acts of hostility. 
He was agreeably disappointed, however, in experiencing nothing 
but kind treatment from Tamaahmaah and his people. It is true, 
he was narrowly watched whenever a vessel came in sight, lest he 
should escape and relate what had passed ; but at other times he 
was treated with entire confidence and great distinction. He be- 
came a prime favorite, cabinet counsellor, and active coadjutor of 
Tamaahmaah, attending him in all his excursions, whether of busi- 
ness or pleasure, and aiding in his warlike and ambitious enter- 
prises. By degrees he rose to the rank of a chief, espoused one 
of the beauties of the island, and became habituated and recon- 
ciled to his new way of life ; thinking it better, perhaps, to rule 
among savages than serve among white men ; to be a feathered 
chief than a tarpawling boatswain. His favor with Tamaahmaah 
never declined ; and when that sagacious, intrepid, and aspiring 
chieftain had made himself sovereign over the whole group of 
islands, and removed his residence to Woahoo, he left his faithful 
adherent John Young in command of Owyhee. 

Such is an outline of the history of Governor Young, as fur- 
nished by himself ; and we regret that we are not able to give 
any account of the state maintained by this seafaring worthy, 
and the manner in which he discharged hiB high functions ; though 
it is evident he had more of the hearty familiarity of the fore- 
castle than the dignity of the gubernatorial office. 



72 ASTORIA. 

These long conferences were bitter trials to tlie patience of 
the captain, who had no respect either for the governor or his 
island, and was anxious to push on in quest of provisions and 
water. As soon as he could get his inquisitive partners once 
more on board, he weighed anchor, and made sail for the island 
of Woahoo, the royal residence of Tamaahmaah. 

This is the most beautiful island of the Sandwich group. It 
is forty-six miles in length and twenty-three in breadth. A ridge 
of volcanic mountains extends through the centre, rising into 
lofty peaks, and skirted by undulating hills and rich plains, where 
the cabins of the natives peep out from beneath groves of cocoa- 
nut and other luxuriant trees. 

On the 21st of February the Tonquin cast anchor in the 
beautiful bay before the village of Waititi, (pronounced Whytee- 
tee,) the abode of Tamaahmaah. This village contained about 
two hundred habitations, composed of poles set in the ground, 
tied together at the ends, and thatched with grass, and was situ- 
ated in an open grove of cocoa-nuts. The royal palace of Ta- 
maahmaah was a large house of two stories ; the lower of stone, 
the upper of wood. Round this his body-guard kept watch, com- 
posed of twenty-four men, in long blue cassocks turned up with 
yellow, and each armed with a musket. 

While at anchor at this place, much ceremonious visiting and 
long conferences took place between the potentate of the islands 
and the partners of the company. Tamaahmaah came on board 
of the ship in royal style, in his double pirogue. He was between 
fifty and sixty years of age, above the middle size, large and well 
made, though somewhat corpulent. He was dressed in an old 
suit of regimentals, with a sword by his side, and seemed some- 
what embarrassed by his magnificent attire. Three of his wives 
accompanied him. They were almost as tall, and quite as corpu- 
lent as himself ; but by no means to be compared with him in 



A ROYAL VISIT-GRAND CEREMONIALS. 73 

grandeur of habiliments, wearing no other garb than the pau. 
With him, also, came his great favorite and confidential counsel^ 
lor, Kraimaker; who, from holding a post equivalent to that of 
prime minister, had been familiarly named Billy Pitt by the 
British visitors to the islands. 

The sovereign was received with befitting ceremonial. The 
American flag was displayed, four guns were fired, and the part- 
ners appeared in scarlet coats, and conducted their illustrious 
guests to the cabin, where they were regaled with wine. In this 
interview the partners endeavored to impress the monarch with a 
sense of their importance, and of the importance of the associa- 
tion to which they belonged. They let him know that they were 
eris, or chiefs, of a great company about to be established on the 
northwest coast, and talked of the probability of opening a trade 
with his islands, and of sending ships there occasionally. All 
this was gratifying and interesting to him, for he was aware of 
the advantages of trade, and desirous of promoting frequent 
intercourse with white men. He encouraged Europeans and 
Americans to settle in his islands and intermarry with his sub- 
jects. There were between twenty and thirty white men at that 
time resident in the island, but many of them were mere vaga- 
bonds, who remained there in hopes of leading a lazy and an easy 
life. For such Tamaahmaah had a great contempt; those only 
had his esteem and countenance who knew some trade or mechanio 
art, and were sober and industrious. 

On the day subsequent to the monarch's visit, the partners 
landed and waited upon him in return. Knowing the effect of 
show and dress upon men in savage life, and wishing to make a 
favorable impression as the eris, or chiefs, of the great American 
Fur Company, some of them appeared in Highland plaids and 
kilts, to the great admiration of the natives. 

While visits of ceremony and grand diplomatic conferences 

4 



74 ASTORIA. 

were going on between tlie partners and the king, the captain, in 
his plain, matter-of-fact way, was pushing what he considered a 
far more important negotiation ; the purchase of a supply of hogs. 
He found that the king had profited in more ways than one by 
his intercourse with white men. Above all other arts nc had 
learned the art of driving a bargain. He was a magnanimous 
monarch, but a shrewd pork merchant ; and perhaps thought ha 
could not do better with his future allies, the American Fur 
Company, than to begin by close dealing. Several interviews 
were requisite, and much bargaining, before he could be brought 
to part with a bristle of his bacon, and then he insisted upon 
being paid in hard Spanish dollars ; giving as a reason that he 
wanted money to purchase a frigate from his brother George, as 
he affectionately termed the king of England.* 

* It appears, from the accounts of subsequent voyagers, that Tamaahmaah 
afterwards succeeded in his wish of purchasing a large ship. In this he sent 
a cargo of sandal wood to Canton, having discovered that the foreign merchants 
trading with him made large profits on this wood, shipped by them from the 
islands to the Chinese markets. The ship was manned by natives, but the 
ofBcers were Englishmen. She accomplished her voyage, and returned in 
safety to the islands, with the Hawaiian flag floating gloriously in the breeze. 
The king hastened on board, expecting to find his sandal wood converted into 
crapes and damasks, and other rich stafls of China, but found, to his astonish- 
ment, by the legerdemain of traffic, his cargo had all disappeared, and, in place 
of it, remained a bill of charges amounting to three thousand dollars. It was 
some time before he could be made to comprehend certain of the most impor- 
tant items of the bill, such as pilotage, anchorage, and custom-house fees ; but 
when he discovered that maritime states in other countries derived large rev- 
enues in this manner, to the great cost of the merchant, " Well," cried he, 
" then I will have harbor fees also." He established them accordingly. Pi- 
lotage a dollar a foot on the draft of each vessel. Anchorage from sixty to 
seventy dollars. In this way he greatly increased the royal revenue, and 
turned his China speculation to account. 



COMMENTS OF A MATTER-OF-FACT-MAN. 75 



At length the royal bargain was concluded ; the necessary 
Bupjtly of hogs obtained, beside several goats, two sheep, a quan- 
tity of poultry, and vegetables in abundance. The partners now 
urged to recruit their forces from the natives of this island. 
They declared they had never seen watermen equal to them, even 
among the voyageurs of the northwest ; and, indeed, they are re- 
markable for their skill in managing their light craft, and can 
swim and dive like waterfowl. The partners were inclined, there- 
fore, to take thirty or forty with them to the Columbia, to be em- 
ployed in the service of the company. The captain, however, 
objected that there was not room in his vessel for the accommo- 
dation of such a number. Twelve, only, were therefore enlisted 
for the company, and as many more for the service of the ship. 
The former engaged to serve for the term of three years, during 
which they were to be fed and clothed ; and at the expiration of 
the time were to receive one hundred dollars in merchandise. 

And now, having embarked his live-stock, fruits, vegetables, 
and water, the captain made ready to set sail. How much the 
honest man had suffered in spirit by what he considered the 
freaks and vagaries of his passengers, and how little he had un- 
dgrstood their humors and intentions, is amusingly shown in a 
letter written to Mr. Astor from Woahoo, which contains his 
comments on the scenes we have described. 

'•'It would be difficult," he writes, "to imagine the frantic 
gambols that are daily played off here ; sometimes dressing in 
red coats, and otherwise very fantastically, and collecting a num- 
ber of ignorant natives around them, telling them that they are 
the great eares of the northwest^ and making arrangements for 
sending three or four vessels yearly to them from the coast with 
spars, &c. ; while those very natives cannot even furnish a hog to 
the ship. Then dressing in Highland plaids and kilts, and 
making similar arrangements, with presents of rum, wine, or any 



76 ASTORIA. 

thing that is at hand. Then taking a number of clerks and men 
on shore to the very spot on which Captain Cook was killed, and 
each fetching off a piece of the rock or tree that was touched by 
the shot. Then sitting down with some white man or some 
native who can be a little understood, and collecting the history 
of those islands, of Tamaahmaah's wars, the curiosities of the 
islands, &c., preparatory to the histories of their voyages ; and 
the collection is indeed ridiculously contemptible. To enumerate 
the thousand instances of ignorance, filth, &c., or to particularize 
all the frantic gambols that are daily practised, would require 
volumes." 

Before embarking, the great eris of the American Fur Com- 
pany took leave of their illustrious ally in due style, with many 
professions of lasting friendship and promises of future inter- 
course ; while the matter-of-fact captain anathematized him in his 
heart for a grasping, trafficking savage ; as shrewd and sordid in 
his dealings as a white man. As one of the vessels of the com- 
pany will, in the course of events, have to appeal to the justice 
and magnanimity of this island potentate, we shall see how far 
the honest captain was right in his opinion. 



DEPARTURE FROM THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 77 



CHAPTER VII. 

It was on tlie 28th of February that the Tonquin set sail from 
the Sandwich Islands. For two days the wind was contrary, and 
the vessel was detained in their neighborhood ; at length a favora- 
ble breeze sprang up, and in a little while the rich groves, green 
hills, and snowy peaks of those happy islands one after another 
sank from sight, or melted into the blue distance, and the Ton- 
quin ploughed her course towards the sterner regions of the 
Pacific. 

The misunderstandings between the captain and his passen- 
gers still continued; or rather, increased in gravity. By his 
altercations and his moody humors, he had cut himself off from 
all community of thought, or freedom of conversation with them. 
He disdained to ask any questions as t^ their proceedings, and 
could only guess at the meaning of their movements, and in so 
doing indulged in conjectures and suspicions, which produced the 
most whimsical self-torment. 

Thus, in one of his disputes with them, relative to the goods 
on board, some of the packages of which they wished to open, to 
take out articles of clothing for the men or presents for the 
natives, he was so harsh and peremptory that they lost all 
patience, and hinted that they were the strongest party, and might 
reduce him to a very ridiculous dilemma, by taking from him the 
command. 

A thought now flashed across the captain's mind that they 
really had a design to depose him, and that, having picked up 



78 ASTORIA. 



some information at Owyhee, possibly of war between tbe United 
States and England, they meant to alter the destination of the 
voyage ; perhaps to seize upon ship and cargo for their own use. 

Once having conceived this suspicion, every thing went to fos 
ter it. They had distributed firearms among some of their men, 
a common precaution among the fur traders when mingling with 
the natives. This, however, looked like preparation. Then sev- 
eral of the partners and clerks and some of the men, being Scots- 
men, were acquainted with the Gaelic, and held long conversations 
together in that language These conversations were considered 
by the captain of a " mysterious and unwarrantable nature," and 
related, no doubt, to some foul conspiracy that was brewing 
among them. He frankly, avows such suspicions, in his letter to 
Mr. Astor, but intimates that he stood ready to resist any trea- 
sonous outbreak ; and seems to think that the evidence of prepa- 
ration on his part had an efiect in overawing the conspirators. 

The fact is, as we have since been informed by one of the par- 
ties, it was a mischievous pleasure with some of the partners and 
clerks, who were young men, to play upon the suspicious temper 
and splenetic humors of the captain. To this we may ascribe 
many of their whimsical pranks and absurd propositions, and, 
above all, their mysterious colloquies in Gaelic. 

In this sore and irritable mood did the captain pursue his 
course, keeping a wary eye on every movement, and bristling up 
whenever the detested sound of the Gaelic language grated upon 
his ear. Nothing occurred, however, materially to disturb the 
residue of the voyage excepting a violent storm ; and on the 
twenty-second of March, the Tonquin arrived at the mouth of the 
Oregon, or Columbia River. 

The aspect of the river and the adjacent coast was wild and 
dangerous. The mouth of the Columbia is upwards of four 
miles wide with a peninsula and promontory on one side, and a 



BARS AND BREAKERS. 79 



long low spit of land on the other ; between which a sand bar 
and chain of breakers almost block up the entrance. The inte- 
rior of the country rises into successive ranges of mountains, 
which, at the time of the arrival of the Tonquin, were covered 
with snow. 

A fresh wind from the northwest sent a rough tumbling sea 
upon the coast, which broke upon the bar in furious surges, and 
extended a sheet of foaju almost across the mouth of the river. 
Under these circumstances the captain did not think it prudent 
to approach within three leagues, until the bar should be sounded 
and the channel ascertained. Mr. Fox, the chief mate, was or- 
dered to this service in the whaleboat, accompanied by John Mar- 
tin, an old seaman, who had formerly visited the river, and by 
three Canadians. Fox requested to have regular sailors to man 
the boat, but the captain would not spare them from the service 
of the ship, and supposed the Canadians, being expert boatmen 
on lakes and rivers, were competent to the service, especially 
when directed and aided by Fox and Martin. Fox seems to have 
lost all firmness of spirit on the occasion, and to have regarded 
the service with a misgiving heart. He came to the partners for 
sympathy, knowing their differences with the captain, and the 
tears were in his eyes as he represented his case. " I am sent 
off," said he, " without seamen to man my boat, in boisterous 
weather, and on the most dangerous part of the northwest coast. 
My uncle was lost a few years ago on this same bar, and I am 
now going to lay my bones alongside of his." The partners 
sympathized in his apprehensions, and remonstrated with the 
captain. The latter, however, was not to be moved. He had 
been displeased with Mr. Fox in the earlier part of the voyage, 
considering him indolent and inactive ; and probably thought his 
present repugnance arose from a want of true nautical spirit. 
The interference of the partners in the business of the ship, also. 



80 ASTORIA. 

was not calculated to have a favorable effect on a stickler for 
authority like himself, especially in his actual state of feeling 
towards them. 

At one o'clock, P. M., therefore. Fox and his comrades set off 
in the whaleboat, which is represented as small in size, and crazy 
in condition. All eyes were strained after the little bark as it 
pulled for shore, rising and sinking with the huge rolling waves, 
until it entered, a mere speck, among the foaming breakers, and 
was soon lost to view. Evening set in, night succeeded and 
passed away, and morning returned, but without the return of 
the boat. 

As the wind had moderated, the ship stood near to the land, 
so as to command a view of the river's mouth. Nothing was to 
be seen but a wild chaos of tumbling waves breaking upon the 
bar, and apparently forming a foaming barrier from shore to 
shore. Towards night the ship again stood out to gain sea-room, 
and a gloom was visible in every countenance. The captain him- 
self shared in the general anxiety, and probably repented of his 
peremptory orders. Another weary and watchful night suc- 
ceeded, during which the wind subsided, and the weather became 
serene. 

On the following day, the ship having drifted near the land, 
anchored in fourteen fathoms water, to the northward of the 
long peninsula or promontory which forms the north side of the 
entrance, and is called Cape Disappointment. The pinnace was 
then manned, and two of the partners, Mr. David Stuart and 
Mr. M'Kay, set off in the hope of learning something of the fate 
of the whaleboat. The surf, however, broke with such violence 
along the shore that they could find no landing place. Several 
of the natives appeared on the beach and made signs to them to 
row round the cape, but they thought it most prudent to return 
to the ship. 



PERILOUS SERVICE. 81 



The wind now springing up, the Tonquin got under way, and 
Btood in to seek the channel ; but was again deterred, by the 
frightful aspect of the breakers, from venturing within a league. 
Here she hove to ; and Mr. Mumford, the second mate, was dis- 
patched with four hands, in the pinnace, to sound across the 
channel until he should find four fathoms depth. The pinnace 
entered among the breakers, but was near being lost, and with 
difficulty got back to the ship. The captain insisted *hat Mr. 
Mumford had steered too much to the southward. He now 
turned to Mr. Aiken, an able mariner, destined to command the 
schooner intended for the coasting trade, and ordered him, to- 
gether with John Coles, sail-maker, Stephen Weekes, armorer, 
and two Sandwich Islanders, to proceed ahead and take sound 
ings, while the ship should follow under easy sail. In this way 
they proceeded until Aiken had ascertained the channel, when 
signal was given from the ship for him to return on board. He 
was then within pistol shot, but so furious was the current, and 
tumultuous the breakers, that the boat became unmanageable, and 
was hurried away, the crew crying out piteously for assistance. 
In a few moments she could not be seen from the ship's deck. 
Some of the passengers climbed to the mizzen top, and beheld 
her still struggling to reach the ship ; but shortly after she 
broached broadside to the waves, and her case seemed desperate. 
The attention of those on board of the ship was now called to 
their own safety. They were in shallow water ; the vessel struck 
repeatedly, the waves broke over her, and there was danger of 
her foundering. At length she got into seven fathoms water, and 
the wind lulling, and the night coming on, cast anchor. With 
the darkness their anxieties increased. The wind whistled, the 
sea roared, the gloom was only broken by the ghastly glare of the 
foaming breakers, the minds of the seamen were full of dreary 

apprehensions, and some of them fancied they heard the cries of 

4* * 



82 ASTORIA. 

their lost comrades mingling with the uproar of the elements, 
For a time, too, the rapidly ebbing tide threatened to sweep them 
from their precarious anchorage. At length the reflux of the 
tide, and the springing up of the wind, enabled them to quit their 
dangerous situation and take shelter in a small bay within Cape 
Disappointment, where they rode in safety during the residue of 
a stormy night, and enjoyed a brief interval of refreshing sleep. 

With the light of day returned their cares and anxieties. 
They looked out from the mast-head over a wild coast, and wilder 
sea, but could discover no trace of the two boats and their crews 
that were missing. Several of the natives came on board with 
peltries, but there was no disposition to trade. They were inter- 
rogated by signs after the lost boats, but could not understand 
the inquiries. 

Parties now went on shore and scoiijed the neighborhood. 
One of these was headed by the captain. They had not pro- 
ceeded far when they beheld a person at a distance in civilized 
garb. As he drew near he proved to be "Weekes, the armorer. 
There was a burst of joy, for it was hoped his comrades were 
near at hand. His story, however, was one of disaster. He and 
his companions had found it impossible to govern their boat, 
having no rudder, and being beset by rapid and whirling currents 
and boisterous surges. After long struggling they had let her 
go at the mercy of the waves, tossing about, sometimes with her 
bow, sometimes with her broadside to the surges, threatened each 
instant with destruction, yet repeatedly escaping, until a huge sea 
broke over and swamped her. "VYeekes was overwhelmed by the 
boiling waves, but emerging above the surface, looked round for 
his companions. Aikin and Coles were not to be seen ; near him 
were the two Sandwich Islanders, stripping themselves of their 
clothing that they might swim more freely. He did the same, 
and the boat floating near to him he seized hold of it. The two 



WEEKES THE ARMORER. 83 



islanders joined him, and, uniting tlieir forces, they succeeded in 
turning the boat upon her keel ; then bearing down her stern and 
rocking her, they forced out so much water that she was able to 
bear the weight of a man without sinking. One of the islanders 
now got in, and in a little while bailed out the water with his 
hands. The other swam about and collected the oars, and they 
all three got once more on board. 

By this time the tide had swept them beyond the breakers, 
and Weekes called on his companions to row for land. They were 
60 chilled and benumbed by the cold, however, that they lost all 
heart, and absolutely refused. Weekes was equally chilled, but 
had superior sagacity and self-command. He counteracted the 
tendency to drowsiness and stupor which cold produces by keep- 
ing himself in constant exercise ; and seeing that the vessel was 
advancing, and that every thing depended upon himself, he set to 
work to scull the boat clear of the bar, and into quiet water. 

Towards midnight one of the poor islanders expired : his com- 
panion threw himself on his corpse and could not be persuaded to 
leave him. The dismal night wore away amidst these horrors : as 
the day dawned, Weekes found himself near the land. He 
steered directly for it, and at length, with the aid of the surf, ran 
his boat high upon a sandy beach. 

Finding that one of the Sandwich Islanders yet gave signs of 
life, he aided him to leave the boat, and set out with him towards 
the adjacent woods. The poor fellow, however, was too feeble to 
follow him, and Weekes was soon obliged to abandon him to his 
fate and provide for his own safety. Falling upon a beaten 
path, he pursued it, and after a few hours came to a part of the 
coast where, to his surprise and joy, he beheld the ship at anchor, 
and was met by the captain and his party. 

After Weekes had related his adventures, three parties were 
dispatched to beat up the coast iu search of the unfortunate 



84 ASTORIA. 

islander. They returned at night ■without success, though they 
had used the utmost diligence. On the following day the search 
was resumed, and the poor fellow was at length discovered lying 
beneath a group of rocks, his legs swollen, his feet torn and bloody 
from walking through bushes and briers, and himself half-dead 
with cold, hunger, and fatigue. Weekes and this islander were 
the only survivors of the crew of the jolly-boat, and no trace was 
ever discovered of Fox and his party. Thus eight men were lost 
on the first approach to the coast ; a commencement that cast a 
gloom over the spirits of the whole party, and was regarded by 
some of the superstitious as an omen that boded no good to the 
enterprise. 

Towards night the Sandwich Islanders went on shore, to bury 
the body of their unfortunate countryman who had perished in 
the boat. On arriving at the place where it had been left, they 
dug a grave in the sand, in which they deposited the corpse, with 
a biscuit under one of the arms, some lard under the chin, and a 
small quantity of tobacco, as provisions for its journey in the land 
of spirits. Having covered the body with sand and flints, they 
kneeled along the grave in a double row, with their faces turned 
to the east, while one who officiated as a priest sprinkled them 
with water from a hat. In so doing he recited a kind of prayer 
or invocation, to which, at intervals, the others made responses. 
Such were the simple rites performed by these poor savages at 
the grave of their comrade on the shores of a strange land ; and 
when these were done, they rose and returned in silence to the 
ship, without once casting a look behind. 



MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA. 85 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Columbia, or Oregon, for the distance of thirty or forty 
miles from its entrance into the sea, is, properly speaking, a mere 
estuary, indented by deep bays so as to vary from three to seven 
miles in width ; and is rendered extremely intricate and danger- 
ous by shoals reaching nearly from shore to shore, on which, at 
times, the winds and currents produce foaming and tumultuous 
breakers. The mouth of the river proper is but about half a 
mile wide, formed by the contracting shores of the estuary. The 
entrance from the sea, as we have already observed, is bounded 
on the south side by a flat sandy spit of land, stretching into the 
ocean. This is commonly called Point Adams. The opposite, 
or northern side, is Cape Disappointment ; a kind of peninsula, 
terminating in a steep knoll or promontory crowned with a forest 
of pine trees, and connected with the main-land by a low and 
narrow neck. Immediately within this cape is a wide, open bay, 
terminating at Chinook Point, so called from a neighboring tribe 
of Indians. This was called Baker's Bay, and here the Tonquin 
was anchored. 

The natives inhabiting the lower part of the river, and with 
whom the company was likely to have the most frequent inter- 
course, were divided at this time into four tribes, the Chinooks, 
Clatsops, Wahkiacums, and Cathlamahs. They resembled each 
other in person, dress, language, and manner ; and were probably 
from the same stock, but broken into tribes, or rather hordes, by 
those feuds and schisms frequent among Indians. 

These people generally live by fishing. It is true they occa^ 



8fi ASTORIA. 

Bionally hunt the elk and deer, and ensnare the waterfowl of their 
ponds and rivers, but these are casual luxuries. Their chief sub- 
sistence is derived from the salmon and other fish which abound in 
the Columbia and its tributary streams, aided by roots and herbs, 
especially the wappatoo, which is found on the islands of the river. 

As the Indians of the plains who depend upon the chase are 
bold and expert riders, and pride themselves upon their horses, 
BO these piscatory tribes of the coast excel in the management of 
canoes, and are never more at home than when riding upon the 
waves. Their canoes vary in form and size. Some are upwards 
of fifty feet long, cut out of a single tree, either fir or white cedar, 
and capable of carrying thirty persons. They have thwart pieces 
from side to side about three inches thick, and their gunwales 
flare outwards, so as to cast off the surges of the waves. The 
bow and stern are decorated with grotesque figures of men and 
animals, sometimes five feet in height. 

In managing their canoes they kneel two and two along the 
bottom, sitting on their heels, and wielding paddles from four to 
five feet long, while one sits on the stern and steers with a paddle 
of the same kind. The women are equally expert with the men 
in managing the canoe, and generally take the helm. 

It is surprising to see with what fearless unconcern these 
savages venture in their light barks upon the roughest and most 
tempestuous seas. They seem to ride upon the waves like sea- 
fowl. Should a surge throw the canoe upon its side and endan- 
ger its overturn, those to windward lean over the upper gunwale, 
thrust their paddles deep into the wave, apparently catch the water 
and force it under the canoe, and by this action not merely regain 
an equilibrium, but give their bark a vigorous impulse forward. 

The effect of different modes of life upon the human frame 
and human character is strikingly instanced in the contrast 
between the hunting Indians of the prairies, and the piscatorj 



HUNTING AND FISHING INDIANS. 87 



Indians of the sea-coast. The former, continually on horseback 
scouring the plains, gaining their food by hardy exercise, and 
subsisting chiefly on flesh, are generally tall, sinewy, meagre, but 
well formed, and of bold and fierce deportment : the latter, 
lounging about the river banks, or squatting and curved up in 
their canoes, are generally low in stature, ill-shaped, with crooked 
legs, thick ankles, and broad flat feet. They are inferior also in 
muscular power and activity, and in ganie qualities and appear- 
ance, to their hard-riding brethren of the prairies. 

Having premised these few particulars concerning the neigh- 
boring Indians, we will return to the immediate concerns of the 
Tonquin and her crew. 

Further search was made for Mr. Fox and his party, but with 
no better success, and they were at length given up as lost. In 
the meantime, the captain and some of the partners explored the 
river for some distance in a large boat, to select a suitable place 
for the trading post. Their old jealousies and difierences con- 
tinued ; they never could coincide in their choice, and the captain 
objected altogether to any site so high up the river. They all 
returned, therefore, to Baker's Bay in no very good humor. 
The partners proposed to examine the opposite shore, but the 
captain was impatient of any further delay. His eagerness to 
"get on" had increased upon him. He thought all these excur- 
sions a sheer loss of time, and was resolved to land at once, build 
a shelter for the reception of that part of his cargo destined for 
the use of the settlement, and, having cleared his ship of it and 
of his irksome shipmates, to depart upon the prosecution of his 
coasting voyage, according to orders 

On the following day, therefore, without troubling himself to 
consult the partners, he landed in Baker's Bay, and proceeded to 
erect a shed for the reception of the rigging, equipments, and stores 
of the schooner that was to be built for the use of the settlement. 



ASTORIA. 



This dogged determination on the part of the sturdy captain 
gave high offence to Mr. M'Dougal, who now considered himself 
at the head of the concern, as Mr. Aster's representative and 
proxy. He set off the same day, (April 5th,) accompanied by 
Mr. David Stuart, for the southern shore, intending to be back 
by the seventh. Not having the captain to contend with, they 
soon pitched upon a spot which appeared to them favorable for 
the intended establishment. It was on a point of land called 
Point George, having a very good harbor, where vessels, not 
exceeding two hundred tons burden, might anchor within fifty 
yards of the shore. 

After a day thus profitably spent, they re-crossed the river, 
but landed on the northern shore several miles above the anchor- 
ing ground of the Tonquin, in the neighborhood of Chinook, and 
visited the village of that tribe. Here they were received with 
great hospitality by the chief, who was named Comcomly, a 
shrewd old savage, with but one eye, who will occasionally figure 
m this narrative. Each village forms a petty sovereignty, gov- 
erned by its own chief, who, however, possesses but little authori- 
ty, unless he be a man of wealth and substance ; that is to say, 
possessed of canoes, slaves, and wives. The greater number of 
these, the greater is the chief How many wives this one-eyed po- 
tentate maintained we are not told, but he certainly possessed great 
sway, not merely over his own tribe, but over the neighborhood. 

Having mentioned slaves, we would observe that slavery exists 
among several of the tribes beyond the Rocky Mountains. The 
slaves are well treated while in good health, but occupied in all 
kinds of drudgery. Should they become useless, however, by 
sickness or old age, they are totally neglected, and left to perish ; 
nor is any respect paid to their bodies after death. 

A singular custom prevails, not merely among the Chinooks, 
but among most of the tribes about this part of the coast, which 



AN ARISTOCRACY OF FLATHEADS. 8D 



is the flattening of the forehead. The process by which this 
deformity is effected commences immediately after birth. The 
infant is laid in a wooden trough, by way of cradle. The end on 
which the head reposes is higher than the rest. A padding is 
placed on the forehead of the infant, with a piece of bark above 
it, and is pressed down by cords, which pass through holes on 
each side of the trough. As the tightening of the padding and 
the pressing of the head to the board is gradual, the process 
is said not to be attended with much pain. The appearance of 
the infant, however, while in this state of compression, is whimsi- 
cally hideous, and " its little black eyes," we are told, " being 
forced out by the tightness of the bandages, resemble those of a 
mouse choked in a trap." 

About a year's pressure is sufficient to produce the desired 
effect, at the end of which time the child emerges from its band- 
ages a complete flathead, and continues so through life. It must 
be noted, however, that this flattening of the head has something 
in it of aristocratical significancy, like the crippling of the feet 
among Chinese ladies of quality. At any rate, it is a sign of 
freedom. No slave is permitted to bestow this enviable deformity 
upon his child ; all the slaves, therefore, are roundheads. 

With this worthy tribe of Chinooks the two partners passed a 
part of the day very agreeably. M'Dougal, who was somewhat vain 
of his official rank, had given it to be understood that they were 
two chiefs of a great trading company, about to be established 
here, and the quicksighted, though one-eyed chief, who was some- 
what practised in traffic with white men, immediately perceived the 
policy of cultivating the friendship of two such important visitors. 
He regaled them, therefore, to the best of his ability, -with, abun- 
dance of salmon and wappatoo. The next morning, March 7th, 
they prepared to return to the vessel, according to promise. 
They had eleven miles of open bay to traverse ; the wind was 



90 ASTORIA. 



fresh, the waves ran high. Comcomly remonstrated with them 
on the hazard to which they would be exposed. They were reso- 
lute, however, and launched their boat, while the wary chieftain 
followed at some short distance in his canoe. Scarce had they 
rowed a mile, when a wave broke over their boat and upset it. 
They were in imminent peril of drowning, especially Mr. 
M'Dougal, who could not swim. Comcomly, however, came bound- 
ing over the waves in his light canoe, and snatched them from a 
watery grave. 

They were taken on shore and a fire made, at which they dried 
their clothes, after which Comcomly conducted them back to his 
village. Here every thing was done that could be devised for 
their entertainment during three days that they were detained 
by bad weather. Comcomly made his people perform antics be- 
fore them ; and his wives and daughters endeavored, by all the 
soothing and endearing arts of women, to find favor in their eyes. 
Some even painted their bodies with red clay, and anointed 
themselves with fish oil, to give additional lustre to their charms. 
Mr. M'Dougal seems to have had a heart susceptible to the in- 
fluence of the gentler sex. Whether or no it was first touched 
on this occasion we do not learn ; but it will be found, in the 
course of this work, that one of the daughters of the hospitable 
Comcomly eventually made a conq[uest of the great eri of the 
American Fur Company. 

When the weather had moderated and the sea become tranquil, 
the one-eyed chief of the Chinooks manned his state canoe, and 
conducted his guests in safety to the ship, where they were wel- 
comed with joy, for apprehensions had been felt for their safety. 
Comcomly and his people were then entertained on board of the 
Tonquin, and liberally rewarded for their hospitality and services. 
They returned home highly satisfied, promising to remain faithful 
friends and allies of the white men. 



POINT GEORGE. 91 



CHAPTER IX. 

From the report made by the two exploring partners, it was deter 
mined that Point George should be the site of the trading house 
These gentlemen, it is true, were not perfectly satisfied with the 
place, and were desirous of continuing their search ; but Captain 
Thorn was impatient to land his cargo and continue his voyage, 
and protested against any more of what he termed " sporting 
excursions." 

Accordingly, on the 12th of April the launch was freighted 
with all things necessary for the purpose, and sixteen persons de- 
parted in her to commence the establishment, leaving the Tonquin 
to follow as soon as the harbor could be sounded. 

Crossing the wide mouth of the river, the party landed, and 
encamped at the bottom of a small bay within Point George. 
The situation chosen for the fortified post was on an elevation 
facing to the north, with the wide estuary, its sand bars and 
tumultuous breakers spread out before it, and the promontory of 
Cape Disappointment, fifteen miles distant, closing the prospect 
to the left. The surrounding country was in all the fseshness of 
spring ; the trees were in the young leaf, the weather was superb, 
and every thing looked delightful to men just emancipated from 
a long confinement on shipboard. The Tonquin shortly after- 
wards made her way through the intricate channel, and came to 
anchor in the little bay, and was saluted from the encampment 
with three vollies of musketry and three cheers. She returned 
the salute with three cheers and three guns. 

All hands now set to work cutting down trees, clearing away 



92 ASTORIA. 

thickets, and marking out the place for the residence, storehouse, 
and powder magazine, which were to be built of logs and covered 
with bark. Others landed the timbers intended for the frame of the 
coasting vessel, and proceeded to put them together, while others 
prepared a garden spot, and sowed the seeds of various vegetables. 

The next thought was to give a name to the embryo metropo- 
lis-" the one that naturally presented itself was that of the pro- 
jector and supporter of the whole enterprise. It was accordingly 
named Astoria. 

The neighboring Indians now swarmed about the place. Some 
brought a few land-otter and sea-otter skins to barter, but in very 
scanty parcels ; the greater number came prying about to gratify 
their curiosity, for they are said to be impertinently inquisitive ; 
while not a few came with no other design than to pilfer ; the 
laws of meutn and tuiwi being but slightly respected among 
them. Some of them beset the ship in their canoes, among whom 
was the Chinook chief Comcomly, and his liege subjects. These 
were well received by Mr. M'Dougal, who was delighted with an 
opportunity of entering upon his functions, and acquiring impor- 
tance in the eyes of his future neighbors. The confusion thus 
produced on board, and the derangement of the cargo caused by 
this petty trade, stirred the spleen of the captain, who had a 
sovereign contempt for the one-eyed chieftain and all his crew. 
He complained loudly of having his ship lumbered by a host of 
" Indian ragamuffins," who had not a skin to dispose of, and at 
length put his positive interdict upon all trafficking on board. 
Upon this Mr. M'Dougal was fain to land, and establish his quar- 
ters at the encampment, where he could exercise his rights and 
enjoy his dignities without control. 

The feud, however, between these rival powers still continued, 
but was chiefly carried on by letter. Day after day and week 
after week elapsed, yet the storehouses requisite for the reception 



SAILING OF THE TONQUIN. 93 



of the cargo were not completed, and the ship was detained in 
port ; while the captain was teased by frequent requisitions for 
various articles for the use of the establishment, or the trade 
with the natives. An angry correspondence took place, in which 
he complained bitterly of the time wasted in " smoking and sport- 
ing parties," as he termed the reconnoitering expeditions, and in 
clearing and preparing meadow ground and turnip patches, instead 
of dispatching his ship. At length all these jarring matters were 
adjusted, if not to the satisfaction, at least to the acquiescence of 
all parties. The part of the cargo destined for the use of Astoria 
was landed, and the ship left free to proceed on her voyage. 

As the Tonquin was to coast to the north, to trade for pel 
tries at the different harbors, and to touch at Astoria on her 
return in the autumn, it was unanimously determined that Mr. 
M'Kay should go in her as supercargo, taking with him Mr. 
Lewis as ship's clerk. On the first of June the ship got under 
way, and dropped down to Baker's Bay, where she was detained for 
a few days by a head wind ; but early in the morning of the fifth 
stood out to sea with a fine breeze and swelling canvas, and swept 
off gayly on her fatal voyage, from which she was never to return ! 

On reviewing the conduct of Captain Thorn, and examining 
his peevish and somewhat whimsical correspondence, the impres- 
sion left upon our mind is, upon the whole, decidedly in his favor. 
While we smile at the simplicity of his heart and the narrowness 
of his views, which made him regard every thing out of the direct 
path of his daily duty, and the rigid exigencies of the service, as 
trivial and impertinent, which inspired him with contempt for the 
swelling vanity of some of his coadjutors, and the literary exer- 
cises and curious researches of others, we cannot but applaud 
that strict and conscientious devotion to the interests of his em- 
ployer, and to what he considered the true objects of the enter- 
prise in which he was engaged. He certainly was to blame 



94 ASTORIA. 

occasionally for the asperity of his manners, and the arbitrai*y 
nature of his measures, yet much that is exceptionable in this 
part of his conduct may be traced to rigid notions of duty, ac- 
quired in that tyrannical school, a ship of war, and to the con- 
struction given by his companions to the orders of Mr. Astor, so 
little in conformity with his own. His mind, too, appears to 
have become almost diseased by the suspicions he had ■'brmed as 
to the loyalty of his associates, and the nature of their ultimate 
designs ; yet on this point there were circumstances to, in some 
measure, justify him. The relations between the United States 
and Great Britain were at that time in a critical state ; in fact, 
the two countries were on the eve of a war. Several of the part- 
ners were British subjects, and might be ready to desert the flag 
under which they acted, should a war take place. Their appli- 
cation to the British minister at New- York shows the dubious feel- 
ing with which they had embarked in the present enterprise. They 
had been in the employ of the Northwest Company, and might 
be disposed to rally again under that association, should events 
threaten the prosperity of this embryo establishment of Mr. 
Astor. Besides, we have the fact, averred to us by one of the 
partners, that some of them, who were young and heedless, took 
a mischievous and unwarrantable pleasure in playing upon the 
jealous temper of the captain, and aflfecting mysterious consulta- 
tions and sinister movements. 

These circumstances are cited in palliation of the doubts and 
surmises of Captain Thorn, which might otherwise appear strange 
and unreasonable. That most of the partners were perfectly up- 
right and faithful in the discharge of the trust reposed in them 
we are fully satisfied ; still the honest captain was not invariably 
wrong in his suspicions ; and that he formed a pretty just opin- 
ion of the integrity of that aspiring personage, Mr. M'Bougal, 
will be substantially proved in the sequel. 



ALARMS FROM THE INTERIOR. 95 



CHAPTER X. 

While the Astorians were busily occupied in completing their 
factory and fort, a report was brought to them by an Indian from 
the upper part of the river, that a party of thirty white men had 
appeared on the banks of the Columbia, and were actually build- 
ing houses at the second rapids. This information caused much 
disquiet. We have already mentioned that the Northwest Com- 
pany had established posts to the west of the Rocky Mountains, in 
a district called by them New Caledonia, which extended from lat. 
52" to 55° north, being within the British territories. It was now 
apprehended that they were advancing within the American 
limits, and were endeavoring to seize upon the upper part of the 
river and forestall the American Fur Company in the surround- 
ing trade ; in which case bloody feuds might be anticipated, such 
as had prevailed between the rival fur companies in former 
days. 

A reconnoitring party was sent up the river to ascertain the 
truth of the report. They ascended to the foot of the first rapid, 
about two hundred miles, but could hear nothing of any white 
men being in the neighborhood. 

Not long after their return, however, further accounts were 
received, by two wandering Indians, which established the fact, that 
the Northwest Company had actually erected a trading-house on 
the Spokan River, which falls into the north branch of the 
Columbia. 

What rendered this intelligence the more disquieting, was the 



96 ASTORIA. 

inability of the Astorians, in their present reduced state as to 
numherSj and the exigencies of their new establishment, to furnish 
detachments to penetrate the country in different directions, and 
fix the posts necessary to secure the interior trade. 

It was resolved, however, at any rate, to advance a counter- 
check to this post on the Spokan, and one of the partners, Mr. 
David Stuart, prepared to set out for the purpose with eight men 
and a small assortment of goods. He was to be guided by the 
two Indians, who knew the country, and promised to take him to 
a place not far from the Spokan River, and in a neighborhood 
abounding with beaver. Here he was to establish himself and to 
remain for a time, provided he found the situation advantageous 
and the natives friendly. 

On the 1 5th of July, when Mr. Stuart was nearly ready to em- 
bark, a canoe made its appearance, standing for the harbor, and 
manned by nine white men. Much speculation took place who 
these strangers could be, for it was too soon to expect their own 
people, under Mr. Hunt, who were to cross the continent. As 
the canoe drew near, the British standard was distinguished : on 
coming to land, one of the crew stepped on shore, and announced 
himself as Mr. David Thompson, astronomer, and partner of the 
Northwest Company. According to his account, he had set out 
in the preceding year with a tolerably strong party, and a supply 
of Indian goods, to cross the Rocky Mountains. A part of his 
people, however, had deserted him on the eastern side, and re- 
turned with the goods to the nearest northwest post. He had 
persisted in crossing the mountains with eight men, who remained 
true to him. They had traversed the higher regions, and ven- 
tured near the source of the Columbia, where, in the spring, they 
had constructed a cedar canoe, the same in which they had reached 
Astoria. 

This, in fact, was the party dispatched by the Northwest 



A SPY IN THE CAMP. 97 



Company to anticipate Mr. Astor in his intention of eflfecfcing a 
settlement at the mouth of the Columbia River. It appears, 
from information subsequently derived from other sources, that 
Mr. Thompson had pushed on his course with great haste, calling 
at all the Indian villages in his march, presenting them with 
British flags, and even planting them at the forks of the rivers, 
prc/claiming formally that he took possession of the country in 
the nsjne of the king of Great Britain for the Northwest Com- 
pany. As his original plan was defeated by the desertion of his 
people, it is probable that he descended the river simply to recon- 
noitre, and ascertain whether an American settlement had been 
commenced. 

Mr. Thompson was, no doubt, the first white man who de- 
scended the northern branch of the Columbia from so near its 
source. Lewis and Clarke struck the main body of the river at 
the forks, about four hundred miles from its mouth. They en- 
tered it from Lewis River, its southern branch, and thence 
descended. 

Though Mr. Thompson could be considered as little better 
than a spy in the camp, he was received with great cordiality by 
Mr. M'Dougal, who had a lurking feeling of companionship and 
good-will for all of the Northwest Company. He invited him to 
head-quarters, where he and his people were hospitably enter- 
tained. Nay, further, being somewhat in extremity, he was fur- 
nishc by Mr. M'Dougal with goods and provisions for his journey 
back, across the mountains, much against the wishes of Mr 
David Stuart, who did not think the object of his visit entitled 
him to any favor. 

On the 23d of July, Mr. Stuart set out upon his expedition 
to the interior. His party consisted of four of the clerks, Messrs. 
Fillet, Ross, M'Lennon, and Montigny, two Canadian voyageurs, 
and two natives of the Sandwich islands. They had three canoes 

5 



98 ASTORIA. 

well laden •with, provisions, and with goods and necessaries for a 
trading establishment. 

Mr. Thompson and his party set out in company with them, 
it being his intention to proceed direct to Montreal. The part- 
ners at Astoria forwarded by him a short letter to Mr. Astor, 
informing him of their safe arrival at the mouth of the Columbia, 
and that they had not yet heard of Mr. Hunt. The little squad- 
ron of canoes set sail with a favorable breeze, and soon passed 
Tongue Point, a long, high, and rocky promontory, covered with 
trees, and stretching far into the river. Opposite to this, on the 
northern shore, is a deep bay, where the Columbia anchored at 
the time of the discovery, and which is still called Gray's Bay, 
from the name of her commander. 

From hence, the general course of the river for about seventy 
miles, was nearly southeast ; varying in breadth according to its 
bays and indentations, and navigable for vessels of three hundred 
tons. The shores were in some places high and rocky, with low 
marshy islands at their feet, subject to inundation, and covered 
with willows, poplars, and other trees that love an alluvial soil. 
Sometimes the mountains receded, and gave place to beautiful 
plains and noble forests. While the river margin was richly 
fringed with trees of deciduous foliage, the rough uplands were 
crowned by majestic pines, and firs of gigantic size, some tower- 
ing to the height of between two and three hundred feet, with 
proportionate circumference. Out of these the Indians wrought 
their great canoes and pirogues. 

At one part of the river, they passed, on the northern side, an 
isolated rock, about one hundred and fifty feet high, rising from 
a low marshy soil, and totally disconnected with the adjacent 
mountains. This was held in great reverence by the neighboring 
Indians, being one of their principal places of sepulture. The 
same provident care for the deceased that prevails among the 



MOUNT COFFIN— INDIAN SEPULCHRES. 99 



hunting tribes of the prairies is observable among the piscatory 
tribes of the rivers and sea-coast. Among the former, the favor- 
ite horse of the hunter is buried with him in the same funereal 
mound, and his bow and arrows are laid by his side, that he may 
be perfectly equipped for the " happy hunting grounds " of the 
land of spirits. Among the latter, the Indian is wrapped in his 
juautle of skins, laid in his canoe, with his paddle, his fishing 
spear, and other implements beside him, and placed aloft on 
some rock or other eminence overlooking the river, or bay, or 
lake, that he has frequented. He is thus fitted out to launch 
away upon those placid streams and sunny lakes stocked with 
all kinds of fish and waterfowl, which are prepared in the next 
world for those who have acquitted themselves as good sons, good 
fathers, good husbands, and, above all, good fishermen, during 
their moi'tal sojourn. 

The isolated rock in question presented a spectacle of the 
kind, numerous dead bodies being deposited in canoes on its 
summit ; while on poles around were trophies, or, rather, funereal 
offerings of trinkets, garments, baskets of roots, and other articles 
for the use of the deceased. A reverential feeling protects these 
sacred spots from robbery or insult. The friends of the deceased 
especially the women, repair here at sunrise and sunset for some 
time after his death, singing his funeral dirge, and uttering loud 
wailings and lamentations. 

From the number of dead bodies in canoes observed upon this 
rock by the first explorers of the river, it received the name of 
Mount Coffin, which it continues to bear. 

Beyond this rock they passed the mouth of a river on the 
right bank of the Columbia, which appeared to take its rise in a 
distant mountain, covered with snow. The Indian name of this 
river was the Cowleskee. Some miles further on they came to 
the great Columbian valley, so called by Lewis and Clarke. It 



100 ASTORIA. 



is sixty miles in width, and extends far to the south-southeast, 
between parallel ridges of mountains, which bound it on the east 
and west. Through the centre of this valley flowed a large and 
beautiful stream, called the Wallamot,* which came wandering, 
for several hundred miles, through a yet unexplored wilderness. 
The sheltered situation of this immense valley had an obvious 
effect upon the climate. It was a region of great beauty and 
luxuriance, with lakes and pools, and green meadows shaded by 
noble groves. Various tribes were said to reside in this valley, 
and along the banks of the "Wallamot. 

About eight miles above the mouth of the Wallamot the little 
squadron arrived at Vancouver's Point, so called in honor of that 
celebrated voyager by his lieutenant (Broughton) when he ex- 
plored the river. This point is said to present one of the most 
beautiful scenes on the Columbia ; a lovely meadow, with a silver 
sheet of limpid water in the centre, enlivened by wild-fowl, a range 
of hills crowned by forests, while the prospect is closed by Mount 
Hood, a magnificent mofintaln rising into a lofty peak, and cov- 
ered with snow ; the ultimate landmark of the first explorers of 
the river. 

Point Vancouver is about one hundred miles from Astoria. 
Here the reflux of the tide ceases to be perceptible. To this place 
vessels of two and three hundred tons burden may ascend. The 
party under the command of Mr. Stuart had been three or four 
days in reaching it, though we have forborne to notice their daily 
progress and nightly encampments. 

From Point Vancouver the river turned towards the northeast, 
and became more contracted and rapid, with occasional islands 
and frequent sand-banks. These islands are furnished with a 
number of ponds, and at certain seasons abound with swan, geese, 

Pronounced Wallamot, the accent being upon the second syllable. 



SCENERY OF THE COLUMBIA. 101 



brandts, cranes, gulls, plover, and other wild-fowl. The shores, 
too, are low, and closely wooded, and such an undergrowth of 
vines and rushes as to be almost impassable. 

About thirty miles above Point Vancouver the mountains 
again approach on both sides of the river, which is bordered by 
stupendous precipices, covered with the fir and the white cedar, 
and enlivened occasionally by beautiful cascades leaping from a 
great height, and sending- up wreaths of vapor. One of these 
precipices, or cliffs, is curiously worn by time and weather so as 
to have the appearance of a ruined fortress, with towers and bat- 
tlements, beetling high above the river ; while two small cascades, 
one hundred and fifty feet in height, pitch down from the fissures 
of the rocks. 

The turbulence and rapidity of the current continually aug- 
menting as they advanced, gave the voyagers intimation that they 
were approaching the great obstructions of the river, and at 
length they arrived at Strawberry Island, so called by Lewis and 
Clarke, which lies at the foot of the first rapid. As this part of 
the Columbia will be repeatedly mentioned in the course of this 
work, being the scene of some of its incidents, we shall give a 
general description of it in this place. 

The falls or rapids of the Columbia are situated about one 
hundred and eighty miles above the mouth of the river. The 
first is a perpendicular cascade of twenty feet, after which there 
is a swift descent for a mile, between islands of hard black rock, 
to another pitch of eight feet divided by two rocks. About 
two and a half miles below this the river expands into a wide 
basin, seemingly dammed up by a perpendicular ridge of black 
rock. A current, however, sets diagonally to the left of this 
rocky barrier, where there is a chasm forty-five yards in width. 
Through this the whole body of the river roars along, swelling 
and whirling and boiling for some distance in the wildest con- 



102 ASTORIA. 

fusion. Througli this tremendous channel the intrepid explorers 

of the river, Lewis and Clarke, passed safely in their boats ; the 
danger being, not from the rocks, but from the great surges and 
whirlpools. 

At the distance of a mile and a half from the foot of this 
narrow channel is a rapid, formed by two rocky islands ; and 
two miles beyond is a second great fall, over a ledge of rocks 
twenty feet high, extending nearly from shore to shore. The 
river is again compressed into a channel from fifty to a hundred 
feet wide, worn through a rough bed of hard black rock, along 
which it boils and roars with great fury for the distance of three 
miles. This is called " The Long Narrows." 

Here is the great fishing place of the Columbia. In the 
spring of the year, when the water is high, the salmon ascend 
the river in incredible numbers. As they pass through this nar- 
row strait, the Indians, standing on the rocks, or on the end of 
wooden stages projecting from the banks, scoop them up with 
small nets distended on hoops and attached to long handles, and 
cast them on the shore. 

They are then cured and packed in a peculiar manner. After 
having been opened and disembowelled, they are exposed to the 
sun on scaffolds erected on the river banks. When sufficiently 
dry, they are pounded fine between two stones, pressed into the 
smallest compass, and packed in baskets or bales of grass mat- 
ting, about two feet long and one in diameter, lined with the cured 
skin of a salmon. The top is likewise covered with fish skins, 
secured by cords passing through holes in the edge of the basket 
Packages are then made, each containing twelve of these bales, 
seven at bottom, five at top, pressed close to each other, with the 
corded side upward, wrapped in mats and corded. These are 
placed in dry situations, and agaiji covered with matting. Each 
of these packages contains from ninety to a hundred pounds 



AN INDIAN FISHING MART. 103 



of dried fish, which in this state will keep sound for several 
years.* 

We have given this process at some length, as furnished by 
the first explorers, because it marks a practised ingenuity in pre- 
paring articles of traffic for a market, seldom seen among our 
aboriginals. For like reasons we would make especial mention 
of the village of Wish-ram, at the head of the Long Narrows, as 
being a solitary instance of an aboriginal trading mart, or empo- 
rium. Here the salmon caught in the neighboring rapids were 
" warehoused," to await customers. Hither the tribes from the 
mouth of the Columbia repaired with the fish of the sea-coast, the 
roots, berries, and especially the wappatoo, gathered in the lower 
parts of the river, together with goods and trinkets obtained 
from the ships which casually visit the coast. Hither also the 
tribes from the Rocky Mountains brought down horses, bear- 
grass, Quamash, and other commodities of the interior. The 
merchant fishermen at the falls acted as middlemen o-r factors, 
and passed the objects of traffic, as it were, cross-handed ; trading 
away part of the wares received from the mountain tribes to those 
of the river and the plains, and vice versa: their packages of 
pounded salmon entered largely into the system of barter, and 
being carried ofi" in opposite directions, found their way to the 
savage hunting camps far in the interior, and to the casual white 
traders who touched upon the coast. 

We have already noticed certain contrarieties of character 
between the Indian tribes, produced by their diet and mode of 
life ; and nowhere are they more apparent than about the falls oi 
the Columbia. The Indians of this great fishing mart are repre- 
sented by the earliest explorers as sleeker and fatter, but less 
hardy and active, than the tribes of the mountains and the prai- 
ries, who live by hunting, or of the upper parts of the river 

* Lewi.s and Clarke, vol. ii. p. 32. 



104 ASTORIA. 

where fisli is scanty, and the inhabitants must eke out their sub- 
sistence by digging roots or chasing the deer. Indeed, "whenever 
an Indian of the upper country is too lazy to hunt, yet is fond of 
good living, he repairs to the falls, to live in abundance without 
labor. 

" By such worthless dogs as these," says an honest trader in 
his journal, which now lies before us, " by such worthless dogs as 
these are these noted fishing-places peopled, which, like our great 
cities, may with propriety be called the head-quarters of vitiated 
principles." 

The habits of trade and the avidity of gain have their cor- 
rupting effects even in the wilderness, as may be instanced in the 
members of this aboriginal emporium ; for the same journalist 
denounces them as " saucy, impudent rascals, who will steal when 
they can, and pillage whenever a weak party falls in their power." 

That he does not belie them will be evidenced hereafter, when 
we have occasion again to touch at Wish-ram and navigate the 
rapids. In the present instance the travellers effected the labo- 
rious ascent of this part of the river, with all its various por- 
tages, without molestation, and once more launched away in 
smooth water above the high falls. 

The two parties continued together, without material impedi- 
ment, for three or four hundred miles further up the Columbia ; 
Mr. Thompson appearing to take great interest in the success of 
Mr. Stuart, and pointing out places favorable, as he said, to the 
establishment of his contemplated trading post. 

Mr. Stuart, who distrusted his sincerity, at length pretended 
to adopt his advice, and, taking leave of him, remained as if to 
establish himself, while the other proceeded on his course towards 
the mountains. No sooner, however, had he fairly departed, than 
Mr. Stuart again pushed forward, under guidance of the two 
Indians, nor did he stop until he had arrived within about one 



MOUTH OF THE OAKINAGAN. 105 



hundred and forty miles of the Spokan River, which he considered 
near enough to keep the rival establishment in check. 

The place which he pitched upon for his trading post was a 
point of land about three miles in length and two in breadth, 
formed by the junction of the Oakiaagan with the Columbia. 
The former is a river which has its source in a considerable lake 
about one hundred and fifty miles west of the point of junction. 
The two rivers, about the place of their confluence, are bordered 
by immense prairies covered with herbage, but destitute of trees. 
The point itself was ornamented with wild flowers of every hue, 
in which innumerable humming-birds were " banqueting nearly 
the livelong day." 

The situation of this point appeared to be well adapted for 
a trading post. The climate was salubrious, the soil fertile, the 
rivers well stocked with fish, the natives peaceable and friendly. 
There were easy communications with the interior by the upper 
waters of the Columbia and the lateral stream 6f the Oakinagan, 
while the downward current of the Columbia furnished a highway 
to Astoria. 

Availing himself, therefore, of the driftwood which had col 
lected in quantities in the neighboring bends of the river, Mr 
Stuart and his men set to work to erect a house, which in a little 
while was sufficiently completed for their residence ; and thus 
was established the first interior post of the company We will 
now return to notice the progress of affairs at the mouth of the 
Columbia. 



106 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XL 

The sailing of tlie Tonquin, and the departure of Mr. David 
Stuart and his detachment, had produced a striking effect on 
affairs at Astoria. The natives who had swarmed about the place 
began immediately to drop off, until at length not an Indian was 
to be seen. This, at first, was attributed to the want of peltries 
with which to trade ; but in a little while the mystery was ex- 
plained in a more alarming manner. A conspiracy was said to 
be on foot among the neighboring tribes to make a combined 
attack upon the white men, now that they were so reduced in 
number. For this purpose there had been a gathering of war- 
riors in a neighboring bay, under pretext of fishing for sturgeon ; 
and fleets of canoes were expected to join them from the north 
and south. Even Comcomly, the one-eyed chief, notwithstanding 
his professed friendship for Mr. M'Dougal, was strongly suspected 
of being concerned in this general combination. 

Alarmed at rumors of this impending danger, the Astoriana 
suspended their regular labor, and set to work, with all haste, to 
tlirow up temporary works for refuge and defence. In the course 
of a few days they surrounded their dwelling-house and maga- 
zines with a picket fence ninety feet square, flanked by two bas- 
tions, on which were mounted four four-pounders. Every day 
they exercised themselves in the use of their weapons, so as to 
qualify themselves for military duty, and at night esconced 
themselves in their fortress and posted sentinels, to guard 
against surprise. In this way they hoped, even in case of attack, 
to be able to hold out until the arrival of the party to be con- 



ALARMING RUMORS. 107 



ducted by IMr. Hunt across the Rocky Mountains, or until the 
return of the Tonquiu. The latter dependence, however, was 
doomed soon to be destroyed. Early in August, a wandering 
band of savages from the Strait of Juan de Fuca, made their 
appearance at the mouth of the Columbia, where they came to 
fish for sturgeon. They brought disastrous accounts of the Ton- 
quin, which were at first treated as mere fables, but which were 
too sadly confirmed b}" a different tribe that arrived a few days 
subsequently. We shall relate the circumstances of this melan- 
choly affair as correctly as the casual discrepancies in the state- 
ments that have reached us will permit. 

We have already stated that the Tonquin set sail from the 
mouth of the river on the fifth of June. The whole number of 
persons on board amounted to twenty-three. In one of the outer 
bays they picked up, from a fishing canoe, an Indian named 
Lamazee, who had already made two voyages along the coast, and 
knew something of the language of the various tribes. He 
agreed to accompany them as interpreter. 

Steering to the north. Captain Thorn arrived in a few days at 
Vancouver's Island, and anchored in the harbor of Neweetee, 
very much against the advice of his Indian interpreter, who 
warned him against the perfidious character of the natives of 
this part of the coast. Numbers of canoes soon came ofi", bring- 
ing sea-otter skins to sell. It was too late in the day to com- 
mence a traffic, but Mr. M'Kay, accompanied by a few of thc- 
men, went on shore to a large village to visit Wicananish, tlio 
chief of the surrounding territory, six of the natives remaining 
on board as hostages. He was received with great professions of 
friendship, entertained hospitably, and a couch of sea-otter skins 
was prepared for him in the dwelling of the chieftain, where he 
was prevailed upon to pass the night. 

In the morning, before Mr. M'Kay had returned to the ship. 



108 ASTORIA. 

great numbers of the natives came off in tlieir canoes to trade, 
headed by two sons of Wicananisb. As they brought abundanca 
of sea-otter skins, and there was every appearance of a brisk 
trade, Captain Thorn did not wait for the return of Mr. M'Kay, 
but spread his wares upon deck, making a tempting display of 
blankets, cloths, knives, beads, and fish-hooks, expecting a prompt 
and profitable sale. The Indians, however, were not so eager and 
simple as he had supposed, having learned the art of bargaining 
and the value of merchandise from the casual traders along the 
coast. They were guided, too, by a shrewd old chief named Noo- 
kamis, who had grown gray in traffic with New England skippers, 
and prided himself upon his acuteness. His opinion seemed to 
regulate the market. When Captain Thorn made what he con 
sidered a liberal offer for an otter skin, the wily old Indian treated 
it with scorn, and asked more than double. His comrades all 
took their cue from him, and not an otter-skin was to be had at 
a reasonable rate. 

The old fellow, however, overshot his mark, and mistook the 
character of the man he was treating with. Thorn was a plain, 
straight-forward sailoi-, who never had two minds nor two prices 
in his dealings, was deficient in patience and pliancy, and totally 
wanting in the chicanery of traffic. He had a vast deal of stern, 
but honest pride in his nature, and, moreover, held the whole 
savage race in sovereign contempt. Abandoning all further 
attempts, therefore, to bargain with his shuffling customers, he 
thrust his hands into his pockets, and paced up and down the 
deck in sullen silence. The cunning old Indian followed him to 
and fro, holding out a sea-otter skin to him at every turn, and 
pestering him to trade. Finding other means unavailing, he 
suddenly changed his tone, and began to jeer and banter him 
upon the mean prices he offered. This was too much for tho 
patience of the captain, who was never remarkable for relishing a 



A DEADLY INSULT 109 



joke, especially when at Lis own expense. Turning suddenly 
upon his persecutor, he snatched the proffered otter skin from 
his hands, rubbed it in his face, and dismissed him over the side 
of the ship with no very complimentary application to accelerate 
his exit. He then kicked the peltries to the right and left about 
the deck, and broke up the market in the most ignominious 
manner. Old Nookamis made for shore in a furious passion, in 
which he was joined by Shewish, one of the sons of Wicananish, 
who went off breathing vengeance, and the ship was soon aban- 
doned by the natives. 

When Mr. M'Kay returned on board, the interpreter related 
what had passed, and begged him to prevail upon the captain to 
make sail, as, from his knowledge of the temper and pride of the 
people of the place, he was sure they would resent the indignity 
offered to one of their chiefs. Mr. M'Kay, who himself possessed 
some experience of Indian character, went to the captain, who 
was still pacing the deck in moody humor, represented the dan- 
ger to which his hasty act had exposed the vessel, and urged him 
to weigh anchor. The captain made light of his counsels, and 
pointed to his cannon and firearms as a sufficient safeguard 
against naked savages. Further remonstrances only provoked 
taunting replies and sharp altercations. The day passed away 
without any signs of hostility, and at night the captain retired as 
usual to his cabin, taking no more than the usual precautions. 

On the following morning, at daybreak, while the captain and 
Mr. M'Kay were yet asleep, a canoe came alongside in which were 
twenty Indians, commanded by young Shewish. They were un- 
armed, their aspect and demeanor friendly, and they held up otter 
skins, and made signs indicative of a wish to trade. The caution 
enjoined by Mr. Astor, in respect to tho admission of Indians on 
board of the ship, had been neglected for some time past ; and 
the officer of the watch, perceiving those in the canoe to be with- 



110 ASTORIA. 

out weapons, and having received no orders to tlie contrary 
readily permitted them to mount the deck. Another canoe soon 
succeeded, the crew of which was likewise admitted. In a little 
while other canoes came off, and Indians were soon clambering 
into the vessel on all sides. 

The officer of the watch now felt alarmed, and called to Cap- 
tain Thorn and Mr. M'Kay. By the time they aame on deck, it 
was thronged with Indians. The interpreter noticed to Mr. 
M'Kay that many of the natives wore short mantles of skins, and 
intimated a suspicion that they were secretly armed. Mr. M'Kay 
urged the captain to clear the ship and get under way. He again 
made light of the advice ; but the augmented swarm of canoes 
about the ship, and the numbers still putting off from shore, at 
length awakened his distrust, and he ordered some of the crew to 
weigh anchor, while some were sent aloft to make sail. 

The Indians now offered to trade with the captain on his <5wn 
terms, prompted, apparently, by the approaching departure of the 
ship. Accordingly, a hurried trade was commenced. The main 
articles sought by the savages in barter, were knives ; as fast as 
some were supplied they moved off, and others succeeded. By 
degrees they were thus distributed about the deck, and all with 
weapons. 

The anchor was now nearly up, the sails were loose, and the 
caj)tain, in a loud and peremptory tone, ordered the ship to be 
cleared. In an instant a signal yell was given : it was echoed on 
every side, knives and war-clubs were brandished in every direc 
tion, and the savages rushed upon their marked victims. 

The first that fell was Mr. Lewis, the ship's clerk. He was 
leaning, with folded arms, over a bale of blankets, engaged in 
bargaining, when he received a deadly stab in the back, and fell 
down the companion-way. 

Mr. M'Kay, who was seated on the taffrail, sprang on his feet, 



MASSACRE OF THE CREW. lU 



but was instantly knocked down with a war-club and flung back- 
wards into the sea, where he was dispatched by the women in the 
canoes. 

In the meantime Captain Thorn made desperate fight against 
fearful odds. He was a powerful as well as a resolute man, but 
he had come upon deck without weapons. Shewish, the young 
chief, singled him out as his peculiar prey, and rushed upon him 
at the first outbreak. The captain had barely time to draw a 
claspknife, with one blow of which he laid the young savage dead 
at his feet. Several of the stoutest followers of Shewish now set 
upon him. He defended himself vigorously, dealing crippling 
blows to right and left, and strewing the quarter-deck with the 
slain and wounded. His object was to fight his way to the cabin, 
where there were firearms ; but he was hemmed in with foes, 
covered with wounds, and faint with loss of blood. For an in- 
stant he leaned upon the tiller wheel, when a blow from behind, 
with a war-club, felled him to the deck, where he was dispatched 
with knives and thrown overboard. 

While this was transacting upon the quarter-deck, a chance- 
medley fight was going on throughout the ship. The crew fought 
desperately with knives, handspikes, and whatever weapon they 
could seize upon in the moment of surprise. They were soon, 
however, overpowered by numbers, and mercilessly butchered. 

As to the seven who had been sent aloft to make sail, they 
contemplated with horror the carnage that was going on below. 
Being destitute of weapons, they let themselves down by the run- 
ning rigging, in hopes of getting between decks. One fell in the 
attempt, and was instantly dispatched ; another received a death- 
blow in the back as he was descending ; a third, Stephen Weekes, 
the armorer, was mortally wounded as he was getting down the 
hatchway. 

The remaining four made good their retreat into the cabin, 



Wii ASTORIA. 

where they found Mr. Lewis, still alive, though mortally wounded. 
Barricading the cabin door, they broke holes through the com- 
panion-way, and, with the muskets and ammunition which were at 
hand, opened a brisk fire that soon cleared the deck. 

Thus far the Indian interpreter, from whom these particulars 
are derived, had been an eye-witness of the deadly conflict. He 
had taken no part in it, and had been spared by the natives as 
being of their race. In the confusion of the moment he took 
refuge with the rest, in the canoes. The survivors of the crew 
now sallied forth, and discharged some of the deck guns, which 
did great execution among the canoes, and drove all the savages 
to shore. 

For the remainder of the day no one ventured to put off to 
the ship, deterred by the effects of the firearms. The night 
passed away without any further attempt on the part of the na- 
tives. When the day dawned, the Tonquin still lay at anchor in 
the bay, her sails all loose and flapping in the wind, and no one 
apparently on board of her. After a time, some of the canoes 
ventured forth to reconnoitre, taking with them the interpreter. 
They paddled about her, keeping cautiously at a distance, but 
growing more and more emboldened at seeing her quiet and life* 
less. One man at length made his appearance on the deck, and 
was recognized by the interpreter as Mr. Lewis. He made 
friendly signs, and invited them on board. It was long before 
they ventured to comj)ly. Those who mounted the deck met with 
no opposition ; no one was to be seen on board ; for Mr. Lewis, 
after inviting them, had disappeared. Other canoes now pressed 
forward to board the prize ; the decks were soon crowded, and 
the sides covered with clambering savages, all intent on plunder. 
In the midst of their eagerness and exultation, the ship blew up 
with a tremendous explosion. Arms, legs, and mutilated bodies 
were blown into the air, and dreadful havoc was made in the sur 



THE UNFORTUNATE FUGITIVES. 113 



rounding canoes. The interpreter was in the main-chains at the 
time of the explosion, and was thrown unhurt into the water, 
where he succeeded in getting into one of the canoes. According 
to his statement, the bay presented an awful spectacle after the 
catastrophe. The ship had disappeared, but the bay was covered 
with fragments of the wreck, with shattered canoes, and Indians 
swimming for their lives, or struggling in the agonies of death ; 
while those who had escaped the danger remained aghast and stu- 
pefied, or made with frantic panic for the shore. Upwards of a 
hundred savages were destroyed by the explosion, many more 
were shockingly mutilated, and for days afterwards the limbs and 
bodies of the slain were thrown upon the beach. 

The inhabitants of Neweetee were overwhelmed with conster- 
nation at this astounding calamity, which had burst upon them in 
the very moment of triumph. The warriors sat mute and mourn- 
ful, while the women filled the air with loud lamentations. Their 
weeping and wailing, however, was suddenly changed into yells 
of fury at the sight of four unfortunate white men, brought cap- 
tive into the village. They had been driven on shore in one of 
the ship's boats, and taken at some distance along the coast. 

The interpreter was permitted to converse with them. They 
proved to be the four brave fellows who had made such desperate 
defence from the cabin. The interpreter gathered from them 
some of the particulars already related. They told him further, 
that, after they had beaten off the enemy, and cleared the ship, 
Lewis advised that they should slip the cable and endeavor to 
get to sea. They declined to take his advice, alleging that the 
wind set too strongly into the bay, and would drive them on 
shore. They resolved, as soon as it was dark, to put ofi" (quietly 
in the ship's boat, which they would be able to do unperceived, 
and to coast along back to Astoria. They put their resolution 
into effect ; but Lewi« refused to accompany them, bejng disa- 



114 ASTORIA. 

bled by bis wound, bopeless of escape, and determined on a ter- 
rible revenge. On the voyage out, be bad repeatedly expressed 
a presentiment tbat be sbould die by bis own bands ; thinking it 
highly probable that be should be engaged in some contest with 
the natives, and being resolved, in case of extremity, to commit 
Buicide rather than be made a prisoner. He now declared bis 
intention to remain on board of the ship until daylight, to decoy 
as many of the savages on board as possible, then to set fire to 
the powder magazine, and terminate his life by a signal act of 
vengeance. How well be succeeded has been shown. His com- 
panions bade him a melancholy adieu, and set off on their pre- 
carious expedition. They strove with might and main to get out 
of the bay, but found it impossible to weather a point of land, 
and were at length compelled to take shelter in a small cove, 
where they hoped to remain concealed until the wind should be 
more favorable. Exhausted by fatigue and watching, they fell 
into a sound sleep, and in tbat state were surprised by the sava- 
ges. Better bad it been for those unfortunate men had they 
remained with Lewis, and shared his heroic death : as it was, 
they perished in a more painful and protracted manner, being 
sacrificed by the natives to the manes of their friends with all the 
lingering tortures of savage cruelty. Some time after their 
death, the interpreter, who bad remained a kind of prisoner at 
large, effected bis escape, and brought the tragical tidings to 
Astoria. 

Such is the melancholy story of the Tonquin, and such was 
the fate of her brave, but headstrong commander, and her adven- 
turous crew. It is a catastrophe that shows the importance, in 
all enterprises of moment, to keep in mind the general instruc- 
tions of the sagacious beads which devise them. Mr. Astor was 
well aware of the perils to which ships were exposed on this 
coast from quarrels with the natives, and from perfidious attempts 



ERRORS OF CAPTAIN THORN. 116 



of tte latter to surprise and capture them in unguarded mo- 
ments. He liad repeatedly enjoined it upon Captain Thorn, in 
conversation, and at parting, in his letter of instructions, to be 
courteous and kind in his dealings with the savages, but by no 
means to confide in their apparent friendship, nor to admit mora 
tlian afeiv on hoard of Ids ship at a tiine. 

Had the deportment of Captain Thorn been properly regula- 
ted, the insult so wounding to savage pride would never have 
been given. Had he enforced the rule to admit but a few at a 
time, the savages would not have been able to get the mastery 
He was too irritable, however, to practise the necessary self-com- 
mand, and, having been nurtured in a proud contempt of danger, 
thought it beneath him to manifest any fear of a crew of unarmed 
savages. 

Witli all his faults and foibles, we cannot but speak of him 
with esteem, and deplore his untimely fate ; for we remember 
him well in early life, as a companion in pleasant scenes and 
joyous hours. When on shore, among his friends, he was a frank, 
manly, sound-hearted sailor. On board ship he evidently as- 
sumed the hardness of deportment and sternness of demeanor 
which many deem essential to naval service. Throughout the 
whole of the expedition, however, he showed himself loyal, single- 
minded, straight-forward, and fearless ; and if the fate of his ves- 
sel may be charged to his harshness and imprudence, we should 
recollect that he paid for his error with his life. 

The loss of the Tonfjuin was a grievous blow to the infant 
establishment of Astoria, and one that threatened to bring after 
it a train of disasters. The intelligence of it did not reach Mr. 
Astor until many months afterwards. He felt it in all its force, 
and was aware that it must cripple, if not entirely defeat, the 
great scheme of his ambition. In his letters, written at the time, 
he speaks of it ars " a calamity, the length of which he could not 



J 16 ASTORIA. 



foresee." He indulged, however, in no weak and vain lamenta 
tion, but souglit to devise a prompt and efficient remedy. The 
very same evening he appeared at the theatre with his usual 
serenity of countenance. A friend, who knew the disastrous 
intelligence he had received, expressed his astonishment that he 
could have calmness of spirit sufficient for such a scene of light 
amusement. " What would you have me do ?" was his charac- 
teristic reply ; " would you have me stay at home and weep for 
what I cannot help ?" 



GLOOM AT ASTORIA. I17 



CHAPTER XII. 

The tidings of the loss of the Tonquin, and the massacre of her 
crew, struck dismay into the hearts of the Astorians. They found 
themselves a mere handful of men, on a savage coast, surrounded 
by hostile tribes, who would doubtless be incited and encouraged 
to deeds of violence by the late fearful catastrophe. In this 
juncture Mr. M'Dougal, we are told, had recourse to a stratagem 
by which to avail himself of the ignorance and credulity of the 
savages, and which certainly does credit to his ingenuity. 

The natives of the coast, and, indeed, of all the regions west 
of the mountains, had an extreme dread of the smallpox ; that 
terrific scourge having, a few years previously, appeared among 
them, and almost swept off entire tribes. Its origin and nature 
were wrapped in mystery, and they conceived it an evil inflicted 
upon them by the Great Spirit, or brought among them by the 
white men. The last idea was seized upon by Mr. M'Dougal. 
He assembled several of the chieftains whom he believed to be in 
the conspiracy. When they were all seated around, he informed 
them that he had heard of the treachery of some of their northern 
brethren towards the Touquin, and was detei*mined on vengeance 
" The white men among you," said he, " are few in number, it is 
true, but they are mighty in medicine. See here," continued lie, 
drawing forth a small bottle and holding it before their eyes, " in 
this bottle I hold the smallpox, safely corked up ; I have but to 
draw the cork, and let loose the pestilence, to sweep man, woman, 
and child from the face of the earth." 



118 ASTORIA. 

The chiefs were struck with horror and alarm. They implored 
him not to uncork the bottle, since they and all their people were 
firm friends of the white men, and would always remain so ; but, 
should the smallpox be once let out, it would run like wildfire 
throughout the country, sweeping off the good as well as the bad ; 
and surely he would not be so vmjust as to punish his friends for 
crimes committed by his enemies. 

Mr. M'Dougal pretended to be convinced by their reasoning, 
and assured them that, so long as the white people should be 
unmolested, and the conduct of their Indian neighbors friendly 
and hospitable, the phial of wrath should remain sealed up ; but, 
on the least hostility, the fatal cork should be drawn. 

From this time, it is added, he was much dreaded by the 
natives, as one who held their fate in his hands, and was called, 
by way of pre-eminence, " the G-reat Smallpox Chief" 

All this while, the labors at the infant settlement went on with 
unremitting assiduity, and, by the 26th of September, a commo- 
dious mansion, spacious enough to accommodate all hands, was 
completed. It was built of stone and clay, there being no calcare- 
ous stone in the neighborhood from which lime for mortar could 
be procured. The schooner was also finished, and launched, with 
the accustomed ceremony, on the second of October, and took her 
station below the fort. She was named the Dolly, and was the 
first American vessel launched on this coast. 

On the 5th of October, in the evening, the little community 
at Astoria was enlivened by the unexpected arrival of a detach- 
ment from Mr. David Stuart's post on the Oakinagan. It con- 
sisted of two of the clerks and two of the privates. They brought 
favorable accounts of the new establishment, but reported that, 
as Mr. Stuart was apprehensive there might be a difficulty of 
subsisting his whole party throughout the winter, he had sent 
one half back to Astoria, retaining with him only Ross. Montig 



AN ARRIVAL. 119 



uy, and two otliers. Such is the hardihood of the Indian trader. 
In the heart of a savage and unknown covmtry, seven hundred 
miles from the main body of his fellow-adventurers, Stuart had 
dismissed half of his little number, and was prepared with the 
residue to brave all the perils of the wilderness, and the rigors 
of a long and dreary winter. 

With the return party came a Canadian Creole named Kegis 
Brugiere, and an Iroquois hunter, with his wife and two children. 
As these two personages belong to certain classes which have 
derived their peculiar characteristics from the fur trade, we deem 
some few particulars concerning them pertinent to the nature of 
this work. 

Brugiere was of a class of beaver trappers and hunters tech- 
nically called freemen, in the language of the traders. They are 
generally Canadians by birth, and of French descent, who have 
been employed for a term of years by some fur company, but, 
their term being expired, continue to hunt and traj) on their own 
account, trading with the company like the Indians. Hence they 
derive their appellation of freemen, to distinguish them from the 
trappers who are bound for a number of years, and receive wages, 
or hunt on shares. 

Having passed their early youth in the wilderness, separated 
almost entirely from civilized man, and in frequent intercourse 
with the Indians, they relapse, with a facility common to human 
nature, into the habitudes of savage life. Though no longer 
bound by engagements to continue in the interior, they have 
become so accustomed to the freedom of the forest and the prai- 
rie, that they look back with repugnance upon the restraints of 
civilization. Most of them intermarry with the natives, and, like 
the latter, have often a plurality of wives. Wanderers of the wil- 
derness, according to the vicissitudes of the seasons, the migra- 
tions of animals, and the plenty or scarcity of game, they lead a 



120 ASTORIA. 

precarious and unsettled existence ; exposed to sun and storin, 
and all kinds of hardships, until tliey resemble Indians in com 
plexiou as well as in tastes and habits. From time to time, they 
bring the peltries they have collected to the trading houses of tho 
company in whose employ they have been brought up. Here they 
traffic them away for such articles of merchandise or ammunition 
as they may stand in need of. At the time when Montreal was 
the great emporium of the fur trader, one of these freemen of the 
wilderness would suddenly return, after an absence of many 
years, among his old friends and comrades. He would be greeted 
as one risen from the dead ; and with the greater welcome, as he 
returned flush of money. A short time, however, spent in revelry 
tvould be sufficient to drain his purse and sate him with civilized 
life, and he would return with new relish to the unshackled free- 
dom of the forest. 

Numbers of men of this class were scattered throughout the 
northwest territories. Some of them retained a little of the 
thrift and forethought of the civilized man, and became wealthy 
among their improvident neighbors ; their wealth being chiefly 
displayed in large bands of horses, which covered the prairies in 
the vicinity of their abodes. Most of them, however, were prone 
to assimilate to the red man in their heedlessness of the future. 

Such was Regis Brugiere, a freeman and rover of the wilder- 
ness. Having been brought up in the service of the Northwest 
Company, he had followed in the train of one of its expeditions 
across the Rocky Mountains, and undertaken to trap for the 
trading post established on the Spokan River. In the course of 
his hunting excursions he had either accidentally, or designedly, 
found his way to the post of Mr. Stuart, and been prevailed vipon 
to descend the Columbia, and " try his luck " at Astoria. 

Ignace Shonowane, the Iroquois hunter, was a specimen of a 
different class. He was one of those aboriginals of Canada who 



WINTER ON THE COLUMBIA. 121 



had partially conformed to the habits of civilization, and the doc- 
trines of Christianity, under the influence of the French colon- 
ists and the Catholic priests ; who seem generally to have been 
more successful in conciliating, taming, and converting the savages, 
than their English and Protestant rivals. These half-civilized 
Indians retained some of the good, and many of the evil quali- 
ties of their original stock. They were first-rate hunters, and 
dexterous in the management of the canoe. They could undergo 
great privations, and were admirable for the service of the rivers, 
lakes, and forests, provided they could be kept sober, and in 
proper subordination ; but, once inflamed with liquor, to which 
they were madly addicted, all the dormant passions, inherent in 
their nature, were prone to break forth, and to hurry them into 
the most vindictive and bloody acts of violence. 

Though they generally professed the Koman Catholic religion, 
yet it was mixed, occasionally, with some of their ancient super- 
stitions ; and they retained much of the Indian belief in charms 
and omens. Numbers of these men were employed by the North- 
west Company as trappers, hunters, and canoe men, but on lower 
terms than were allowed to white men. Ignace Shonowane had, 
in this way, followed the enterprise of the company to the banks 
of the Spokan, being, probably, one of the first of his tribe that 
had traversed the Rocky Mountains. 

Such were some of the motley populace of the wilderness, in- 
cident to the fur trade, who were gradually attracted to the 
new settlement of Astoria. 

The month of October now began to give indications of 
approaching winter. Hitherto, the colonists had been well 
pleased with the climate. The summer had been temperate, 
the mercury never rising above eighty degrees. Westerly winds 
had prevailed during the spring and the early part of summer, 
and been succeeded by fresh breezes from the northwest. In 

6 



ISS ASTORIA. 

the montli of October the southerly winds set in, bringing with 
them frequent rain. 

The Indians now began to quit the borders of the ocean, and 
to retire to their winter-quarters in the sheltered bosom of the 
forests, or along the small rivers and brooks. The rainy season, 
which commences in October, continues, with little intermission, 
until April ; and though the winters are generally mild, the 
mercury seldom sinking below the freezing point, yet the tem- 
pests of wind and rain are terrible. The sun is sometimes 
obscured for weeks, the brooks swell into roaring torrents, and 
the country is threatened with a deluge. 

The departure of tlie Indians to their wintey-quarters gradu- 
ally rendered provisions scanty, and obliged the colonists to 
send out foraging expeditions in the Dolly. Still, the little 
handful of adventurers kept up their spirits in their lonely fort 
at Astoria, looking forward to the time when they should be 
animated and reinforced by the party under Mr. Hunt, that 
was to come to them across the Rocky Mountains. 

The year gradually wore away. The rain, which had poured 
down almost incessantly since the first of October, cleared up 
towards the evening of the 31st of December, and the morning 
of the first of January ushered in a day of sunshine. 

The hereditary French holiday spirit of the Canadian voya- 
geurs is hardly to be depressed by any adversities ; and they 
can manage to get up a fete in the most squalid situations, and 
under the most untoward circumstances. An extra allowance 
of rum, and a little flour to make cakes and puddings, constitute 
a " regale ;" and they forget all their toils and troubles in the 
song and dance. 

On the present occasion, the partners endeavored to cele- 
brate the new year with some effect. At sunrise the drums 
beat to arms, the colors were hoisted, with three rounds of small 



NEW- YEAR FESTIVITIES. 123 



arms and three discharges of cannon. The day was devoted to 
games of agility and strength, and other amusements ; and grog 
was temperately distributed, together with bread, butter, and 
cheese. The best dinner their circumstances could afford was 
served up at mid-day. At sunset the colors were lowered, with 
another discharge of artillery. The night was spent in dancing ; 
and, though there was a lack of female partners to excite their 
gallantry, the voyageurs kept up the ball, with true French 
spirit, until three o'clock in the morning. So passed the new 
year festival of 1812 at the infant colony of Astoria. 



124 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

We have followed up the fortunes of the maritime part of this 
enterprise to the shores of the Pacific, and have conducted the 
affairs of the embryo establishment to the opening of the new 
year ; let us now turn back to the adventurous band to whom 
was intrusted the land expeditiouj and who were to make their 
way to the mouth of the Columbia, up vast rivers, across track- 
less plains, and over the rugged barriers of the Rocky Mountains. 

The conduct of this expedition, as has been already men- 
tioned, was assigned to Mr. Wilson Price Hunt, of Trenton, 
New Jersey, one of the partners of the company, who was ulti- 
mately to be at the head of the establishment at the mouth of 
the Columbia. He is represented as a man scrupulously upright 
and faithful in his dealings, amicable in his disposition, and of 
most accommodating manners ; and his whole conduct will be 
found in unison with such a character. He was not practi- 
cally experienced in the Indian trade ; that is to say, he had 
never made any expeditions of traffic into the heart of the wilder- 
ness, but he had been engaged in commerce at St. Louis, then a 
frontier settlement on the Mississippi, where the chief branch of 
his business had consisted in furnishing Indian traders with goods 
and equipments. In this way, ho had acquired much knowledge 
of the trade at second hand, and of the various tribes, and the 
interior country over which it extended. 

Another of the partners, Mr. Donald M'Kenzie, was associa> 
ted with Mr. Hunt in the expedition, and excelled on those points 



DONALD M'KENZIE. 125 



in which the other was deficient ; for he had been ten years in 
the interior, in the service of the Northwest Company, and val- 
ued himself on his knowledge of " woodcraft," and the strategy 
of Indian trade and Indian warfare. He had a frame seasoned 
to toils and hardships ; a spirit not to be intimidated, and was 
reputed to be a " remarkable shot ;" which of itself, was sufficient 
to give him renown upon the frontier. 

Mr. Hunt and his coadjutor repaired, about the latter part of 
July, 1810, to Montreal, the ancient emporium of the fur trade, 
where every thing requisite for the expedition could be procured. 
One of the first objects was to recruit a complement of Canadian 
voyageurs from the disbanded herd usually to be found loitering 
about the place. A degree of jockeyship, however, is required 
for this service, for a Canadian voyageur is as full of latent tricks 
and vice as a horse ; and when he makes the greatest external 
promise, is prone to prove the greatest " take in." Beside, the 
Northwest Company, who maintained a long established control 
at Montreal, and knew the qualities of every voyageur, secretly 
interdicted the prime hands from engaging in this new service ; 
so that, although liberal terms were oiFered, few presented them- 
selves but such as were not worth having. 

From these, Mr. Hunt engaged a number sufficient, as he sup- 
posed, for present purposes ; and, having laid in a supply of ammu- 
nition, provisions and Indian goods, embarked all on board one of 
those great canoes at that time universally used by the fur traders 
for navigating the intricate and often-obstructed rivers. The canoe 
was between thirty and forty feet long, and several feet in width ; 
constructed of birch bark, sewed with fibres of the roots of the 
spruce tree, and daubed with resin of the pine, instead of tar. 
The cargo was made up in packages, weighing from ninety to one 
hundred pounds each, for the facility of loading and unloading, 
and of transportation at portages. The canoe itself, though capa- 



126 ASTORIA. 



ble of sustaining a freight of upwards of four tons, could readily 
be carried on men's shoulders. Canoes of this size are generally 
managed by eight or ten men, two of whom are picked veterans, 
who receive double wages, and are stationed, one at the bow and 
the other at the stern, to keep a look-out and to steer. They are 
termed the foreman and the steersman. The rest, who ply the 
paddles, are called middle men. When there is a favorable 
breeze, the canoe is occasionally navigated with a sail. 

The expedition took its regular departure, as usual, from St. 
Anne's, near the extremity of the island of Montreal, the great 
starting place of the traders to the interior. Here stood the an- 
cient chapel of St. Anne, the patroness of the Canadian voya- 
geurs ; where they made confession, and offered up their vows, 
previous to departing on any hazardous expedition. The shrine 
of the saint was decorated with relics and votive offerings hung 
up by these superstitious beings, either to propitiate her favor, or 
in gratitude for some signal deliverance in the wilderness. It 
was the custom, too, of these devout vagabonds, after leaving the 
chapel, to have a grand carouse, in honor of the saint and for the 
prosperity of the voyage. In this part of their devotions, the 
crew of Mr. Hunt proved themselves by no means deficient. In- 
deed, he soon discovered that his recruits, enlisted at Montreal, 
were fit to vie with the ragged regiment of Falstaff. Some were 
able-bodied, but inexpert ; others were expert, but lazy ; while a 
third class were expert and willing, but totally worn out, being 
broken-down veterans, incapable of toil. 

With this inefficient crew he made his way up the Ottawa 
River, and by the ancient route of the fur traders, along a suc- 
cession of small lakes and rivers, to Michilimackinac. Their 
progress was slow and tedious. Mr. Hunt was not accustomed 
to the management of " voyageurs," and he had a crew admirably 
disposed to play the old soldier, and balk their work ; and ever 



MACKINAW. 127 



ready to come to a halt, land, make a fire, put on the great pot, 
and smoke, and gossip, and sing by the hour. 

It was not until the 22d of July that they arrived at Macki- 
naw, situated on the island of the same name, at the confluence 
of lakes Huron and Michigan. This famous old French trading- 
post continued to be a rallying point for a multifarious and mot- 
ley population. The inhabitants were amphibious in their habits, 
most of them being, or having been, voyageurs or canoe men. It 
was the great place of arrival and departure of the southwest fur 
trade. Here the Mackinaw Company had established its princi- 
pal post, from whence it communicated with the interior and with 
Montreal. Hence its various traders and trappers set out for 
their respective destinations about Lake Superior and its tribu- 
tary waters, or for the Mississippi, the Arkansas, the Missouri, and 
the other regions of the west. Here, after the absence of a year, 
or more, they returned with their peltries, and settled their ac- 
counts ; the furs rendered in by them being transmitted, in 
canoes, from hence to Montreal. Mackinaw was, therefore, for a 
great part of the year, very scantily peopled ; but at certain 
seasons the traders arrived from all points, with their crews of 
voyageurs, and the place .swarmed like a hive. 

Mackinaw, at that time, was a mere village, stretching along 
a small bay, with a fine broad beach in front of its principal row 
of houses, and dominated by the old fort, which crowned an im- 
pending height. The beach was a kind of public promenadcj 
where were displayed all the vagaries of a seaport on the arrivf.l 
of a fleet from a long cruise. Here voyageurs frolicked away 
their wages, fiddling and dancing in the booths and cabins, bu}- 
ing all kinds of knick-knacks, dressing themselves out finely, and 
parading up and down, like arrant braggarts and coxcombs. 
Sometimes they met with rival coxcombs in the young Indians 
from the opposite shore, who would appear on %he beach painted 



128 ASTORIA. 

and decorated in fantastic style, and would saunter up and down, 
to be gazed at and admired, perfectly satisfied that they eclipsed 
their pale-faced competitors. 

Now and then a chance party of "Northwesters" appeared at 
Mackinaw from the rendezvous at Fort William. These held 
themselves up as the chivalry of the fur trade. They were men 
of iron ; proof against cold weather, hard fare^ and perils of all 
kinds. Some would wear the northwest button, and a formidable 
dirk, and assume something of a military air. They generally 
wore feathers in their hats, and affected the " brave." " Je suis 
un homme du nord !" — " I am a man of the north," one of these 
swelling fellows would exclaim, sticking his arms akimbo and 
ruffling by the Southwesters ; whom he regarded with great con- 
tempt, as men softened by mild climates and the luxurious fare 
of bread and bacon, and whom he stigmatized with the inglori- 
ous name of pork eaters. The superiority assumed by these 
vainglorious swaggerers was, in general, tacitly admitted. In- 
deed, some of them had acquired great notoriety for deeds of 
hardihood and courage ; for the fur trade had its heroes, whose 
names resounded throughout the wilderness. 

Such was Mackinaw at the time of which we are treating. It 
now, doubtless, presents a totally different aspect. The fur com- 
panies no longer assemble there ; the navigation of the lakes is 
carried on by steamboats and various shipping, and the race of 
traders, and trappers, and voyageurs, and Indian dandies, have 
vapored out their brief hour and disappeared. Such changes 
does the lapse of a handful of years make in this ever-changing 
country. 

At this place Mr. Hunt remained for some time, to complete 
his assortment of Indian goods, and to increase his number of 
voyageurs, as well as to engage some of a more efficient character 
than those enlisted at Montreal. 



A STOOL-PIGEON— A DECOY PLUME. 129 



And now commenced another game of jockey ship. There 
were able and efficient men in abundance at Mackinaw, but for 
several days not one presented himself If offers were made to 
any, they were listened to with a shake of the head. Should any 
one seem inclined to enlist, there were officious idlers and busy- 
bodies, of that class who are ever ready to dissuade others from 
any enterprise in which they themselves have no concern. These 
would pull him by the sleeve, take him on one side, and murmur 
in his ear, or would suggest difficulties outright. 

It was objected that the expedition would have to navigate 
unknown rivers, and pass through howling wildernesses infested 
by savage tribes, who had already cut off the unfortunate voy- 
ageurs that had ventured among them ; that it was to climb the 
Rocky Mountains and descend into desolate and famished re- 
gions, where the traveller was often obliged to subsist on grass- 
hoppers and crickets, or to kill his own horse for food. 

At length one man was hardy enough to engage, and he was 
used like a " stool-pigeon," to decoy others ; but sevex'al days 
elapsed before any more could be prevailed upon to join him. 
A few then came to terms. It was desirable to engage them for 
five years, but some refused to engage for more than three. 
Then they must have part of their pay in advance, which was 
readily granted. When they had pocketed the amount, and 
squandered it in regales or in outfits, they began to talk of pecu- 
niary obligations at Mackinaw, which must be discharged before 
they would be free to depart ; or engagements with other persons, 
which were only to be cancelled by a " reasonable consideration." 

It was in vain to argue or remonstrate. The money advanced 
had already been sacked and spent, and must be lost and the 
recruits left behind, unless they could be freed from their debts 
and engagements. Accordingly, a fine was paid for one ; a judg- 
ment for another ; a tavern bill for the third ; and almost all had 



130 ASTORIA. 

to be bought off from some prior engagement, eitlier real or 
pretended. 

Mr. Hunt groaned in spirit at the incessant and unreasonable 
demands of these worthies upon his purse ; yet with all this 
outlay of funds, the number recruited was but scanty, and many 
of the most desirable still held themselves aloof, and were not to 
be caught by a golden bait. With these he tried another temp- 
tation. Among the recruits who had enlisted he distributed 
feathers and ostrich plumes. These they put in their hats, and 
thus figured about Mackinaw, assuming airs of vast importance, 
as " voyageurs in a new company, that was to eclipse the North- 
west." The effect was complete. A French Canadian is too 
vain and mercurial a being to withstand the finery and ostenta- 
tion of the feather. Numbers immediately pressed into the ser- 
vice. One must have an ostrich plume ; another, a white feather 
with a red end ; a third, a bunch of cocks' tails. Thus all para- 
ded about, in vainglorious style, more delighted with the feathers 
in their hats than with the money in their pockets ; and consider- 
ing themselves fully equal to the boastful " men of the north." 

While thus recruiting the number of rank and file, Mr. Hunt 
was joined by a person whom he had invited, by letter, to engage 
as a partner in the expedition. This was Mr. Ramsay Crooks, a 
young man, a native of Scotland, who had served under the 
Northwest Company, and been engaged in trading expeditions 
upon his individual account, among the tribes of the Missouri, 
Mr. Hunt knew him personally, and had conceived a high and 
merited opinion of his judgment, enterprise, and integrity ; he 
was rejoiced, therefore, when the latter consented to accompany 
him. Mr. Crooks, however, drew from experience a picture of 
the dangers to which they would be subjected, and urged the 
importance of going with a considerable force. In ascending the 
wpper Missouri they would have to pass through the country of 



EMBARKATION OF CANADIAN VOYAGEURS. 131 



tte Sioux Indians, who had manifested repeated hostility to the 
white traders, and rendered their expeditions extremely perilous : 
firing upon them from the river banks as they passed beneath in 
their boats, and attacking them in their encampments. Mr. 
Crooks himself, when voyaging in company with another trader 
of the name of M'Lellan, had been interrupted by these marau- 
ders, and had considered himself fortunate in escaping down the 
river without loss of life or property, but with a total abandon- 
ment of his trading voyage. 

Should they be fortunate enough to pass through the country 
of the Sioux without molestation, they would have another tribe 
still more savage and warlike beyond, and deadly foes of the 
white men. These were the Blackfeet Indians, who ranged 
over a wide extent of country which they would have to traverse. 

Under all these circumstances, it was thought advisable to 
augment the party considerably. It already exceeded the num- 
ber of thirty, to which it had originally been limited ; but it 
was determined, on arriving at St. Louis, to increase it to the 
number of sixty. 

These matters being arranged, they prepared to embark; 
but the embarkation of a crew of Canadian voyageurs, on a dis- 
tant expedition, is not so easy a matter as might be imagined ; 
especially of such a set of vainglorious fellows with money in 
both pockets, and cocks' tails in their hats. Like sailors, the 
Canadian voyageurs generally preface a long cruise with a 
carouse. They have their cronies, their brothers, their cousins 
their wives, their sweethearts ; all to be entertained at their 
expense. They feast, they fiddle, they drink, they sing, they 
dance, they frolic and fight, until they are all as mad as so 
many drunken Indians. The publicans are all obedience to 
their commands, never hesitating to let them run up scores 
without limit, knowing that, when their own money is expended. 



132 ASTORIA. 

the purses of their employers must answer for the bill, or the 
voyage must be delayed. Neither was it possible, at that time, 
to remedy the matter at Mackinaw. In that amphibious com- 
munity there was always a propensity to wrest the laws in favor 
of riotous or mutinous boatmen. It was necessary, also, to 
keep the recruits in good humor, seeing the novelty and dan- 
ger of the service into which they were entering, and the ease 
with which they might at any time escape it, by jumping into 
a canoe and going down the stream. 

Such were the scenes that beset Mr. Hunt, and gave him a 
foretaste of the difficulties of his command. The little cabarets 
and sutlers' shops along the bay resounded with the scraping of 
fiddles, with snatches of old French songs, with Indian whoops 
and yells ; while every plumed and feathered vagabond had his 
troop of loving cousins and comrades at his heels. It was with 
the utmost difficulty they could be extricated from the clutches 
of the publicans, and the embraces of their pot companions, who 
followed them to the water's edge with many a hug, a kiss on 
each cheek, and a maudlin benediction in Canadian French. 

It was about the 12th of August that they left Mackinaw, 
and pursued the usual route by Green Bay, Fox and Wisconsin 
Rivers, to Prairie du Chien, and thence down the Mississippi to 
St. Louis, where they landed on the third of September. 



ST. LOUIS. 133 



CHAPTER XIV. 

St. Loins, which is situated on the right bank of the Mississippi 
River, a few miles below the mouth of the Missouri, was, at that 
time, a frontier settlement, and the last fitting-out place for the 
Indian trade of the southwest. It possessed a motley population, 
composed of the Creole descendants of the original French colo- 
nists ; the keen traders from the Atlantic States ; the backwood- 
men of Kentucky and Tennessee ; the Indians and half-breeds 
of the prairies ; together with a singular aquatic race that had 
grown up from the navigation of the rivers — the " boatmen of the 
Mississippi ;" who possessed habits, manners, and almost a lan- 
guage, peculiarly their own, and strongly technical. They, at 
that time, were extremely numerous, and conducted the chief 
navigation and commerce of the Ohio and the Mississippi, as the 
voyageurs did of the Canadian waters ; but, like them, their con- 
sequence and characteristics are rapidly vanishing before the all- 
pervading intrusion of steamboats. 

The old French houses engaged in the Indian trade had 
gathered round them a train of dependents, mongrel Indians, and 
mongrel Frenchmen, who had intermarried with Indians. These 
they employed in their various expeditions by land and water. 
Various individuals of other countries had, of late years, pushed 
the trade further into the interior, to the upper waters of the 
Missouri, and had swelled the number of these hangers-on. Seve- 
ral of these traders had, two or three years previously, formed 
themselves into a company, composed of twelve partners, with a 



134 ASTORIA, 

capital of about forty thousand dollars, called the Missouri Fur 
Company ; the object of which was, to establish posts along the 
upper part of that river, and monopolize the trade. The leading 
partner of this company was Mr. Manuel Lisa, a Spaniard by 
birth, and a man of bold and enterprising character, who had 
ascended the Missouri almost to its source, and made himself 
well acquainted and popular with several of its tribes. By his 
exertions, trading posts had been established, in 1808, in the 
Sioux country, and among the Aricara and Mandan tribes ; and 
a principal one, under Mr. Henry, one of the partners, at the forks 
of the Missouri. This company had in its employ about two 
hundred and fifty men, partly American hunters, and partly 
Creoles and Canadian voyageurs. 

All these circumstances combined to produce a population at 
St. Louis even still more motley than that at Mackinaw. Here 
were to be seen, about the river banks, the hectoring, extravagant, 
bragging boatmen of the Mississippi, with the gay, grimacing, 
singing, good-humored Canadian voyageurs. Vagrant Indians, 
of various tribes, loitered about the streets. Now and then, a 
Btark Kentucky hunter, in leathern hunting-dress, with rifle on 
shoulder and knife in belt, strode along. Here and there were 
new brick houses and shops, just set up by bustling, driving, and 
eager men of traffic, from the Atlantic States ; while, on the other 
hand, the old French mansions, with open casements, still retained 
the easy, indolent air of the original colonists ; and now and then 
the scraping of a fiddle, a strain of an ancient French song, or the 
sound of billiard balls, showed that the happy Gallic turn for 
gayety and amusement still lingered about the place. 

Such was St. Louis at the time of Mr. Hunt's arrival there ; 
and the appearance of a new fur company, with ample funds at 
its command, produced a strong sensation among the Indian 
traders of the place, and awakened keen jealousy and opposition 



TEMPERATURE OF THE MISSOURI. 135 



on the part of the Missouri Company. Mr. Hunt proceeded to 
strengthen himself against all competition. For this purpose, 
he secured to the interests of the association another of those 
enterprising men, who had been engaged in individual traffic 
with the tribes of the Missouri. This was a Mr. Joseph Miller, 
a gentleman well educated and well informed, and of a respecta- 
ble family of Baltimore. He had been an officer in the army of 
the United States, but had resigned in disgust, on being refused 
a furlough, and had taken to trapping beaver and trading among 
the Indians. He was easily induced by Mr. Hunt to join as a 
partner, and was considered by him, on account of his education 
and acquirements, and his experience in Indian trade, a valuable 
addition to the company. 

Several additional men were likewise enlisted at St. Louis, 
some as boatmen, and others as hunters. These last were en- 
gaged, not merely to kill game for provisions, but also, and indeed 
chiefly, to trap beaver and other animals of rich furs, valuable in 
the trade. They enlisted on different terms. Some were to have 
a fixed salary of three hundred dollars ; others were to be fitted 
out and maintained at the expense of the company, and were to 
hunt and trap on shares. 

As Mr. Hunt met with much opposition on the part of rival 
traders, especially the Missouri Fur Company, it took him some 
weeks to complete his preparations. The delays which he had 
previously experienced at Montreal, Mackinaw, and on the way, 
added to those at St. Louis, had thrown him much behind his 
original calculations, so that it would be impossible to efieet his 
voyage up the Missouri in the present year. This river, flowing 
from high and cold latitudes, and through wide and open plains, 
exposed to chilling blasts, freezes early. The winter may be 
dated from the first of November ; there was every prospect, 
therefore, that it would be closed with ice long before Mr. Hunt 



136 ASTORIA. 

could reach its upper waters. To avoid, however, the expense of 
wintering at St. Louis, he determined to push up the river as far 
as possible, to some point above the settlements, where game was 
plenty, and where his whole party could be subsisted by hunting, 
until the breaking up of the ice in the spring should permit them 
to resume their voyage. 

Accordingly, on the twenty-first of October he took his de- 
parture from St. Louis. His party was distributed in tnree boats. 
One was the barge which he had brought from Mackinaw ; another 
was of a larger size, such as was formerly used in navigating the 
Mohawk River, and known by the generic name of the Schenec- 
tady barge ; the other was a large keel boat, at that time the 
grand conveyance on the Mississippi. 

In this way they set out from St. Louis, in buoyant spirits, 
and soon arrived at the mouth of the Missouri. This vast river, 
three thousand miles in length, and which, with its tributary 
streams, drains such an immense extent of country, was as yet 
but casually and imperfectly navigated by the adventurous bark 
of the fur trader. A steamboat had never yet stemmed its tur- 
bulent current. Sails were but of casual assistance, for it re- 
quired a strong wind to conquer the force of the stream. The 
main dependence was on bodily strength and manual dexterity. 
The boats, in general, had to be propelled by oars and setting 
poles, or drawn by the hand and by grappling hooks from one 
root or overhanging tree to another ; or towed by the long cor- 
delle, or towing line, where the shores were sufficiently clear of 
woods and thickets to permit the men to pass along the banks. 

During this slow and tedious progress the boat would be 
exposed to frequent danger from floating trees and great masses 
of drift-wood, or to be impaled upon snags and sawyers ; that is 
to say, sunken trees, presenting a jagged or pointed end above 
the surface of the water. As the channel of the river frequentl^y 



BOAT NAVIGATION. 137 



shifted from side to side, according to the bends and sand-banks, 
the boat hadj in the same way, to advance in a zigzag course. 
Often a part of the crew would have to leap into the water at the 
shallows, and wade along with the towing line, while their com- 
rades on board toilfully assisted with oar and setting pole. Some- 
times the boat would seem to be retained motionless, as if spell 
bound, opposite some point round which the current set with 
violence, and where the utmost labor scarce effected any visible 
progress. 

On these occasions it was that the merits of the Canadian 
voyageurs came into full action. Patient of toil, not to be dis- 
heartened by impediments and disappointments, fertile in expe- 
dients, and versed in every mode of humoring and conquering the 
wayward current, they would ply every exertion, sometimes in the 
boat, sometimes on shore, sometimes in the water, however cold ; 
always alert, always in good-humor ; and, should they at any time 
flag or grow weary, one of their popular boat songs, chanted by a 
veteran oarsman, and responded to in chorus, acted as a never- 
failing restorative. 

By such assiduous and persevering labor they made their way 
about four hundred and fifty miles up the Missouri, by the 16th 
of November, to the mouth of the Nodowa. As this was a good 
hunting country, and as the season was rapidly advancing, they 
determined to establish their winter quarters at this place ; and, 
in fact, two days after they had come to a halt, the river closed 
just above their encampment. 

The party had not been long at this place when they were 
joined by Mr. Robert M'Lellan, another trader of the Missouri ; 
the same who had been associated with Mr. Crooks in the unfor- 
tunate expedition in which they had been intercepted by the 
Sioux Indians, and obliged to make a rapid retreat down the 
river. 



138 ASTORIA. 

M'Lellan was a remarkable man. He had been a partisan 
under General Wayne, in his Indian wars, where he had distin- 
guished himself by his fiery spirit and reckless daring, and mar- 
vellous stories were told of his exploits. His appearance answered 
to his character. His frame was meagre, but muscular ; showing 
strength, activity, and iron firmness. His eyes were dark, deep 
set, and piercing. He was restless, fearless, but of impetuous and 
sometimes ungovernable temper. He had been invited by Mr. 
Hunt to enroll himself as a partner, and gladly consented ; being 
pleased with the thoughts of passing, with a powerful force, 
through the country of the Sioux, and perhaps having an oppor- 
tunity of revenging himself upon that lawless tribe for their past 
offences. 

Another recruit that joined the camp at Nodowa deserves 
cc[ual mention. This was John Day, a hunter from the back- 
woods of Virginia, who had been several years on the Missouri in 
the service of Mr. Crooks, and of other traders. He was about 
forty years of age, six feet two inches high, straight as an Indian ; 
with an elastic step as if he trod* on springs, and a handsome, 
open, manly countenance. It was his boast, that in his younger 
days, nothing could hurt or daunt him ; but he had " lived too 
fast," and injured his constitution by his excesses. Still he was 
strong of hand, bold of heart, a prime woodman, and an almost 
unerring shot. He had the frank spirit of a Virginian, and the 
rough heroism of a pioneer of the west. 

The party were now brought to a halt for several months. 
They were in a country abounding with deer and wild turkeys, 
no that there was no stint of provisions, and every one appeared 
cheerful and contented. Mr. Hunt determined to avail himself 
of this interval to return to St. Louis and obtain a reinforce- 
ment. He wished to procure an interpreter, acquainted with 
the language of the S'oux ; as, from all accounts, he apprehend- 



JOURNEY OF MR. HUNT TO ST. LOUIS. 139 



ed difficulties in passing through the country of that nation. 
He felt the necessity, also, of having a greater number of 
hunters, not merely to keep up a supply of provisions through 
out their long and arduous expedition, but also as a protection 
and defence, in case of Indian hostilities. For such service the 
Canadian voyageurs were little to be depended upon, fighting 
not being a part of their profession. The proper kind of men 
were American hunters, experienced in savage life and savage 
warfare, and possessed of the true game spirit of the west. 

Leaving, therefore, the encampment in charge of the other 
partners, Mr. Hunt set off on foot on the first of January (1810), 
for St. Louis. He was accommpanied by eight men as far as 
Fort Osage, about one hundred and fifty miles below Nodowa. 
Here he procured a couple of horses, and proceeded on the re- 
mainder of his journey with two men, sending the other six 
back to the encampment. He arrived at St. Louis on the 20th 
of January. 



140 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XV. 

On thia his second visit to St. Louis, Mr. Hunt was again im- 
peded in liis plans by tlie opposition of the Missouri Fur Com- 
pany. The affairs of that company werCj at this time, in a very 
dubious state. During the preceding year, their principal 
establishment at the forks of the Missouri had been so much 
harassed by the Blackfeet Indians, that its commander, Mr. 
Henry, one of the partners, had been compelled to abandon the 
post and cross the Rocky Mountains, with the intention of fix- 
ing himself upon one of the upper branches of the Columbia. 
What had become of him and his party was unknown. The 
most intense anxiety was felt concerning them, and apprehen- 
sions that they might have been cut off by the savages. At the 
time of Mr. Hunt's arrival at St. Louis, the Missouri Company 
were fitting out an expedition to go in quest of Mr. Henry. It 
was to be conducted by Mr. Manuel Lisa, the enterprising part- 
ner already mentioned. 

There being thus two expeditions on foot at the same mo- 
ment, an unusual demand was occasioned for hunters and voy- 
ageurs, who accordingly profited by the circumstance, and stipu- 
lated for high terms. Mr. Hunt found a keen and subtle 
competitor in Lisa, and was obliged to secure his recruits by 
liberal advances of pay, and by other pecuniary indulgences. 

The greatest difficulty was to procure the Sioux interpreter 
There was but one man to be met with at St. Louis who was fitted 
for the purpose, but to secure him would require much manage 



PIERRE DORION 141 



ment. The individual in question was a half-breed, named Pierre 
Dorion ; and, as lie figures hereafter in this narrative, and is, 
withal, a striking specimen of the hybrid race on the frontier, we 
shall give a few particulars concerning him. Pierre was the son 
of Dorion, the French interpreter, who accompanied Messrs. 
Lewis and Clarke in their famous exploring expedition across 
tJie Rocky Mountains. Old Dorion was one of those French 
Creoles, descendants of the ancient Canadian stock, who ibound 
on the western frontier, and amalgamate or cohabit with the 
savages. He had sojourned among various tribes, and perhaps 
left progeny among them all ; but his regular, or habitual wife, 
was a Sioux squaw. By her he had a hopeful brood of half-breed 
sons, of whom Pierre was one. The domestic affairs of old 
Dorion were conducted on the true Indian plan. Father and 
sons would occasionally get drunk together, and then the cabin 
was a scene of ruffian brawl and fighting, in the course of which 
the old Frenchman was apt to get soundly belabored by his mon- 
grel oflFspring. In a furious scuffle of the kind, one of the sons 
got the old man upon the ground, and was upon the point ol 
scalping him. " Hold ! my son," ci'ied the old fellow, in im- 
ploring accents, " you are too brave, too lioiwrohle to scalp your 
father !" This last appeal touched the French side of the half- 
breed's heart, so he sufiered the old man to wear his scalp un- 
harmed. 

Of this hopeful stock was Pierre Dorion, the man whom it 
was now the desire of Mr. Hunt to engage as an interpreter. He 
had been employed in that capacity by the Missouri Fur Com- 
pany during the preceding year, and had conducted their traders 
in safety through the difierent tribes of the Sioux. He had 
proved himself faithful and serviceable while sober ; but the love 
of liquor, in which he had been nurtured and brought up, would 
occasionally break out, and with it the savage side of his character 



142 ASTORIA. 

It was his love of liquor which had embroiled him with the 
Missouri Company. While in their service at Fort Mandan, on 
the frontier, he had been seized with a whisky mania ; and, as 
the beverage was only to be procured at the company's store, it 
had been charged in his account at the rate of ten dollars a 
quart. This item had ever remained unsettled, and a matter of 
furious dispute, the mere mention of which was sufficient to put 
him in a passion. 

The moment it was discovered by Mr. Lisa that Pierre Dorion 
was in treaty with the new and rival association, he endeavored, 
by threats ^s well as promises, to prevent his engaging in their 
service. His promises might, perhaps, have prevailed ; but his 
threats, which related to the whisky debt, only served to drive 
Pierre into the opposite ranks. Still, he took advantage of this 
competition for his services to stand out with Mr. Hunt on the 
most advantageous terms, and, after a negotiation of nearly two 
weeks, capitulated to serve in the expedition, as hunter and 
interpreter, at the rate of three hundred dollars a year, two hun- 
dred of which were to be paid in advance. 

When Mr. Hunt had got every thing ready for leaving St 
Louis, new difficulties arose. Five of the American hunters, 
from the encampment at Nodowa, suddenly made their appearance. 
They alleged that they had been ill treated by the partners at the 
encampment, and had come off clandestinely, in consequence of a 
dispute. It was useless at the present moment, and under present 
circumstances, to attempt any compulsory measures with these 
deserters. Two of them Mr. Hunt prevailed upon, by mild 
means, to return with him. The rest refused ; nay, what was worse, 
they spread such reports of the hardships and dangers to be ap- 
prehended in the course of the expedition, that they struck a 
panic into those hunters who had recently engaged at St. Louis, 
and, when the hour of departure arrived, all but one refused to 



LEGAL PERPLEXITIES OF PIERRE DORION. 143 



emTaark. It was in vain to plead or remonstrate ; they shouldered 
their rifles and turned their back u2)on the expedition, and Mr. 
Hunt was fain to put off from shore with the single hunter and 
a number of voyageurs whom he had engaged. Even Pierre 
Dorion, at the last moment, refused to enter the boat until Mr. 
Hunt consented to take his squaw and two children on board also. 
But the tissue of perplexities, on account of this worthy inclivi 
dual, did not end here. 

Among the various persons who were about to proceed up the 
Missouri with Mr. Hunt, were two scientific gentlemen : one Mr. 
John Bradbury, a man of mature age, but great ent^prise and 
personal activity, who had been sent out by the Linnean Society 
of Liverpool, to make a collection of American plants ; the other, 
a Mr. Nuttall, likewise an Englishman, younger in years, who has 
since made himself known as the author of " Travels in Arkan- 
sas," and a work on the " Genera of American Plants." Mr. 
Hunt had offered them the protection and facilities of his party, 
in their scientific researches up the Missouri. As they were not 
ready to depart at the moment of embarkation, they put their 
trunks on board of the boat, but remained at St. Louis until the next 
day, for the arrival of the post, intending to join the expedition 
at St Charles, a short distance above the mouth of the Missouri. 

The same evening, however, they learned that a writ had been 
issued against Pierre Dorion for his whisky debt, by Mr. Lisa, 
as agent of the Missouri Company, and that it was the intention 
to entrap the mongrel linguist on his arrival at St. Charles. 
Upon hearing this, Mr. Bradbury and Mr. Nuttall set off a little 
after midnight, by land, got ahead of the boat as it was ascending 
the Missouri, before its arrival at St. Charles, and gave Pierre 
Dorion warning of the legal toil prepared to ensnare him. The 
knowing Pierre immediately landed and took to the woods, fol 
lowed by his squaw laden with their papooses, and a large bundle 



144 ASTORIA. 

containing their most precious effects ; promising to rejoin the 
party some distance above St. Charles. There seemed little de- 
pendence to be placed upon the promises of a loose adventurer 
of the kind, who was at the very time playing an evasive game 
with his former employers ; who had already received two-thirds 
of his year's pay, and had his rifle on his shoulder, his family and 
worldly fortune at his heels, and the wild woods before him. 
There was no alternative, however, and it was hoped his pique 
against his old employers would render him faithful to his new 
ones. 

The pft,rty i-eached St. Charles in the afternoon, but the har- 
pies of the law looked in vain for their expected prey. The boats 
resumed their course on the following morning, and had not pro- 
ceeded far when Pierre Dorion made his appearance on the shore. 
He was gladly taken on board, but he came without his squaw. 
They had quarrelled in the night ; Pierre had administered the 
Indian discipline of the cudgel, whereupon she had taken to the 
woods, with their children and all their worldly goods. Pierre 
evidently was deeply grieved and disconcerted at the loss of his 
wife and his knapsack, wherefore Mr. Hunt dispatched one of the 
Canadian voyageurs in search of the fugitive ; and the whole 
party, after proceeding a few miles further, encamped on an island 
to await his return. The Canadian rejoined the party, but with- 
out the squaw ; and Pierre Dorion passed a solitary and anxious 
night, bitterly regretting his indiscretion in having exercised his 
conjugal authority so near home. Before daybreak, however, a 
well-known voice reached his ears from the opposite shore. It was 
his repentant spouse, who had been wandering the woods all night 
in quest of the party, and had at length descried it by its fires. 
A boat was dispatched for her, the interesting family was once 
more united, and Mr. Hunt now flattered himself that his per- 
plexities with Pie: re Dorion were at an end. 



DANIEL BOON. 145 



Bad weather, very heavy rains, and an unusually early rise 
in the Missouri, rendered the ascent of the river toilsome, slow, 
and dangerous. The rise of the Missouri does not generally 
take place until the month of May or June : the present swelling 
of the river must have been caused by a freshet in some of its 
more southern branches. It could not have been the great an- 
nual flood, as the higher branches must still have been ice-bound. 

And here we cannot but pause, to notice the admirable ar 
rangement of nature, by which the annual swellings of the vari- 
ous great rivers which empty themselves into the Mississippi, 
have been made to precede each other at considerable intervals. 
Thus, the flood of the Red River precedes that of the Arkansas 
by a month. The Arkansas, also, rising in a much more southern 
latitude than the Missouri, takes the lead of it in its annual ex- 
cess, and its superabundant waters are disgorged and disposed of 
long before the breaking up of the icy barriers of the north ; 
otherwise, did all these mighty streams rise simultaneously, and 
discharge their vernal floods into the Mississippi, an inundation 
would be the consequence, that would submerge and devastate all 
the lower country. 

On the afternoon of the third day, January 17th, the boats 
touched at Charette, one of the old villages founded by the ori- 
ginal French colonists. Here they met with Daniel Boon, the 
renowned patriarch of Kentucky, who had kept in the advance of 
civilization, and on the borders of the wilderness, still leading a 
hunter's life, though now in his eighty-fifth year. He had but 
recently returned from a hunting and trapping expedition, and 
had brought nearly sixty beaver skins as trophies of his skill. 
The old man was still erect in form, strong in limb, and unflinch- 
ing in spirit, and as he stood on the river bank, watching the de- 
parture of an expedition destined to traverse the wilderness to 
the very shores of the Pacific, very probably felt a throb of his 

7 



146 ASTORIA. 



old pioneer spirit, impelling him to shoulder his rifle and join the 
adventurous band. Boon flourished several years after this meet- 
ing, in a vigorous old age, the Nestor of hunters and backwood- 
men ; and died, full of sylvan honor and renown, in 1818, in his 
ninety-second year. 

The next morning early, as the party were yet encamped at 
the mouth of a small stream, they were visited by another of these 
heroes of the wilderness, one John Colter, who had accompanied 
Lewis and Clarke in their memorable expedition. He had re- 
cently made one of those vast internal voyages so characteristic 
of this fearless class of men, and of the immense regions over 
which they hold their lonely wanderings ; having come from the 
head waters of the Missouri to St. Louis in a small canoe. This 
distance of three thousand miles he had accomplished in thirty 
days. Colter kept with the party all the morning. He had 
many particulars to give them concerning the Blackfeet Indians, 
a restless and predatory tribe, who had conceived an implacable 
hostility to the white men, in consequence of one of their war- 
riors having been killed by Captain Lewis, while attempting to 
steal horses. Through the country infested by these savages the 
expedition would have to proceed, and Colter was urgent in reit- 
erating the precautions that ought to be observed respecting 
them He had himself experienced their vindictive cruelty, and 
his story deserves particular citation, as showing the hairbreadth 
adventures to which these solitary rovers of the wilderness are 
,i2:posed. 

Colter, with the hardihood of a regular trapper, had cast 
himself loose from the party of Lewis and Clarke in the very 
heart of the wilderness, and had remained to trap beaver alone 
on the head waters of the Missouri. Here he fell in with 
another lonely trapper, like himself, named Potts, and they 
agreed to keep together. They were in the very region of tho 



AN AFFHAY WITH THE BLACKFEET. 147 



terrible Blackfeet, at tliat time thirsting to revenge the death 
of their companion, and knew that they had to expect no mercy 
at their hands. They were obliged to keep concealed all day 
in the woody margins of the rivers, setting their traps after 
nightfall, and taking them up before daybreak. It was running 
fearful risk for the sake of a few beaver skins ; but such is the 
life of the trapper. 

They were on a branch of the Missouri called Jefferson's 
Fork, and had set their traps at night, about six miles up a 
small river that emptied into the fork. Early in the morning 
they ascended the river in a canoe, to examine the traps. The 
banks on each side were high and perpendicular, and cast a 
shade over the stream. As they were softly paddling along, 
they heard the trampling of many feet upon the banks. Colter 
immediately gave the alarm of " Indians !" and was for instant 
retreat. Potts scoffed at him for being frightened by the tramp- 
ling of a herd of buffaloes. Colter checked his uneasiness and 
paddled forward. They had not gone much further when 
frightful whoops and yells burst forth from each side of the 
river, and several hundred Indians appeared on either bank. 
Signs were made to the unfortunate trappers to come on shore. 
They were obliged to comply. Before they could get out of 
their canoes, a savage seized the rifle belonging to Potts. Col- 
ter sprang on shore, wrested the weapon from the hands of the 
Indian, and restored it to his companion, who was still in the 
canoe, and immediately pushed into the stream. There was the 
sharp twang of a bow, and Potts cried out that he was wounded. 
Colter urged him to come on shore and submit, as his only chance 
for life ; but the other knew there was no prospect of mercy, 
and determined to die game. Levelling his rifle, he shot one of 
the savages dead on the spot. The next moment he. fell himself, 
pierced with innumerable arrows. 



148 ASTORIA. 



The vengeance of the savages now turned upon Colter. He 
was stripped naked, and, having some knowledge of the Blackfoot 
language, overheard a consultation as to the mode of dispatch- 
ing him, so as to derive the greatest amusement from his death. 
Some were for setting him up as a mark, and having a trial of 
skill at his expense. The chief, however, was for nobler sport. 
He seized Colter by the shoulder, and demanded if he could run 
fast. The unfortunate trapper was too well acquainted with Indian 
customs not to comprehend the drift of the question. He knew 
he was to run for his life, to furnish a kind of human hunt to 
his persecutors. Though in reality he was noted among his 
brother hunters for swiftness of foot, he assured the chief that 
he was a very bad runner. His stratagem gained him some 
vantage ground. He was led by the chief into the prairie, about 
four hundred yards from the main body of savages, and then 
turned loose to save himself if he could. A tremendous yell let 
him know that the whole pack of bloodhounds were off in full 
cry. Colter flew, rather than ran ; he was astonished at his 
own speed ; but he had six miles of prairie to traverse before he 
should reach the Jefferson Fork of the Missouri ; how could he 
hope to hold out such a distance with the fearful odds of several 
hundred to one against him ! The plain too abounded with the 
prickly pear, which wounded his /laked feet. Still he fled on, 
dreading each moment to hear the twang of a bow, and to feel 
an arrow quivering at his heart. He did not even dare to look 
round, lest he should lose an inch of that distance on which hia 
life depended. He had ran nearly half way across the plain 
when the sound of pursuit grew somewhat fainter, and he ventur- 
ed to turn his head. The main body of his pursuers were a 
considerable distance behind ; several of the fastest runners were 
scattered in the advance ; while a swift-footed warrior, armed with 
a spear, was not more than a hundred yards behind him. 



A SWIM FOR LIFE. 149 



Inspired witli new hope, Colter redoubled his exertions, but 
Btrained himself to such a degree, that the blood gushed from 
his mouth and nostrils, and streamed down his breast. He arrived 
within a mile of the river. The sound of footsteps gathered 
upon him. A glance behind showed liis pursuer within twenty 
yards, and preparing to launch his sj)ear. Stopping short, he 
turned round and spread out his arms. The savage, confounded 
by this sudden action, attempted to stop and hurl his spear, but 
fell in the very act. His sjDear stuck in the ground, and the 
shaft broke in his hand. Colter plucked up the pointed part, 
pinned the savage to the earth, and continued his flight. The 
Indians, as they arrived at their slaughtered companion, stopped 
to howl over him. Colter made the most of this precious delay, 
gained the skirt of cotton-wood bordering the river, dashed 
through it, and plunged into the stream. He swam to a neigh- 
boring island, against the upper end of which the driftwood had 
lodged in such quantities as to form a natural raft ; under this 
he dived, and swam below water until he succeeded in getting a 
breathing place between the floating trunks of trees, whose 
branches and bushes formed a covert several feet above the level 
of the water. He had scarcely drawn breath after all his toils, 
when he heard his pursuers on the river bank, whooping and yell- 
ing like so many fiends. They plunged in the river, and swam 
to the raft. The heart of Colter almost died within him as he 
saw them, through the chinks of his concealment, passing and 
repassing, and seeking for him in all directions. They at length 
gave up the search, and he began to rejoice in his escape, when 
the idea presented itself that they might set the raft on fire. 
Here was a new source of horrible apprehension, in which ho 
remained until nightfall. Fortunately, the idea did not suggest 
itself to the Indians. As soon as it was dark, finding by the 
silence around that his pursuers had departed, Colter dived again 



iS9 ASTORIA. 

and came up beyond the raft. He then swam silently down the 
river for a considerable distance, when he landed, and kept 
on all night, to get as far off as possible from this dangerous 
neighborhood. 

By daybreak he had gained sufficient distance to relieve him 
from the terrors of his savage foes ; but now new sources of in- 
quietude presented themselves. He was naked and alone, in the 
midst of an unbounded wilderness ; his only chance was to reach 
a trading post of the Missouri Company, situated on a branch of 
the Yellowstone River. Even should he elude his pursuers, day,s 
must elapse before he could reach this post, during which he 
must traverse immense prairies destitute of shade, his naked 
body exposed to the burning heat of the sun by day, and the 
dews and chills of the night season ; and his feet lacerated by 
the thorns of the prickly pear. Though he might see game in 
abundance around him, he had no means of killing any for hia 
sustenance, and must depend for food upon the roots of the earth. 
In defiance of these difficulties he pushed resolutely forward, 
guiding himself in his trackless course by those signs and indi- 
cations known only to Indians and backwoodmen ; and after 
braving dangers and hardships enough to break down any spirit 
but that of a western pioneer, arrived safe at the solitary post in 
question.* 

Such is a sample of the rugged experience which Colter had 
to relate of savage life ; yet, with all these perils and terrors 
fresh in his recollection, he could not see the present band on 
their way to those regions of danger and adventure, without feel- 
ing a vehement impulse to join them. A western trapper is like 
a sailor ; past hazards only stimulate him to further risks. The 
vast prairie is to the one what the ocean is to the other, a bound 
less field of enterprise and exploit. However he may have suf 

* Bradbury. Travels in America, p. 17. 



ARRIVAL AT FORT OSAGE. 151 



fered in his last cruise, he is always ready to join a new expedi 
tion ; and the more adventurous its nature, the more attractive 
is it to his vagrant spirit. 

Nothing seems to have kept Colter from continuing with the 
party to the shores of the Pacific but the circumstance of his 
having recently married. All the morning he kept with them, 
balancing in his mind the charms of his bride against those of 
the Rocky Mountains ; the former, however, prevailed, and after 
a march of several miles, he took a reluctant leave of the travel- 
lers, and turned his face homeward. 

Continuing their progress up the Missouri, the party encamped 
on the evening of the 21st of March, in the neighborhood of a 
little frontier village of French Creoles. Here Pierre Dorion 
met with some of his old comrades, with whom he had a long 
gossip, and returned to the camp with rumors of bloody feuds 
between the Osages and the loways, or Ayaways, Potowatomies, 
Sioux, and Sawkees. Blood had already been shed, and scalps 
been taken. A war party, three hundred strong, were prowling 
in the neighborhood ; others might be met with higher up the 
river ; it behooved the travellers, therefore, to be upon their 
guard against robbery or surprise, for an Indian war party on 
the march is prone to acts of outrage. 

In consequence of this report, which was subsequently con- 
firmed by further intelligence, a guard was kept up at night 
round the encampment, and they all slept on their arms. As 
they were sixteen in number, and well supplied with weapons and 
ammunition, they trusted to be able to give any marauding party 
a warm reception. Nothing occurred, however, to molest them 
on their voyage, and on the 8th of April they came in sight of 
Fort Osage. On their approach the flag was hoisted on the fort, 
and they saluted it by a discharge of firearms. Within a short 
distance of the fort was an Osage village, the inhabitants of 



152 ASTORIA. 

wliich, men, women, and children, thronged down to the water 
side to witness their hxnding. One of the first persons they met 
on the river bank was Mr. Crooks, who had come down in a boat, 
with nine men, from the winter encampment at Nodowa, to meet 
them. 

They remained at Fort Osage a part of three days, during 
which they were hospitably entertained at the garrison by Lieu- 
tenant Brownson, who held a temporary command. They were 
regaled also with a war-feast at the village ; the Osage warriors 
having returned from a successful foray against the loways, in 
which they had taken seven scalps. These were paraded on 
poles about the village, followed by the warriors decked out in all 
their savage ornaments, and hideously painted as if for battle. 

By the Osage warriors, Mr. Hunt and his companions were 
again warned to be on their guard in ascending the river, as the 
Sioux tribe meant to lay in wait and attack them. 

On the 10th of April they again embarked, their party being 
now augmented to twenty-six, by the addition of Mr. Crooks and 
his boat^s Grew. They had not proceeded far, however, when 
there was a great outcry from one of the boats ; it was occasioned 
by a little domestic discipline in the Dorion family. The squaw 
of the worthy interpreter, it appeared, had been so delighted with 
the scalp-dance, and other festivities of the Osage village, that 
she had taken a strong inclination to remain there. This had 
been as strongly opposed by her liege lord, who had compelled 
her to embark. The good dame had remained sulky ever since, 
whereupon Pierre, seeing no other mode of exorcising the evil 
spirit out of her, and being, perhaps, a little inspired by whisky, 
had resorted to the Indian remedy of the cudgel, and, before his 
neighbors could interfere, had belabored her so soundly, that 
there is no record of her having shown any refractory symptoms 
throughout the remainder of the exDedition. 



SUBLIMITY OF A TURKEY-BUZZARD. 153 



For a week they continued their voyage, exposed to almost in- 
cessant rains. The bodies of drowned buflfaloes floated past them 
in vast numbers ; many had drifted upon the shore, or against 
the upper ends of the rafts and islands. These had attracted 
great flights of turkey-buzzards ; some were banqueting on the 
carcasses, others were soaring far aloft in the sky, and others 
were perched on the trees, with their backs to the sun. and their 
wings stretched out to dry, like so many vessels in harbor, spread- 
ing their sails after a shower. 

The turkey-buzzard (vultur aura, or golden vulture), when on 
the wing, is one of the most specious and imposing of birds. Its 
flight in the upper regions of the air is really sublime, extending 
its immense wings, and wheeling slowly and majestically to and 
fro, seemingly without exerting a muscle or fluttering a feather, 
but moving by mere volition, and sailing on the bosom of the air, 
as a ship upon the ocean. Usurping the empyreal realm of the 
eagle, he assumes for a time the port and dignity of that majestic 
bird, and often is mistaken for him by ignorant crawlers upon 
earth. It is only when he descends from the clouds to pounce 
upon carrion that he betrays his low propensities, and reveals his 
caitiff character. Near at hand he is a disgusting bird, ragged 
in plumage, base in aspect, and of loathsome odor. 

On the 17th of April Mr. Hunt arrived with his party at the 
Station near the Nodowa River, where the main body had been 
c]^uartered during the winter. 



154 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The weather continued rainy and nngenial for some days after 
Mr. Hunt's return to Nodowa ; yet spring was rapidly advancing, 
and vegetation was putting forth with all its early freshness and 
beauty. The snakes began to recover from their torpor and crawl 
forth into day, and the neighborhood of the wintering house 
seems to have been much infested with them. Mr. Bradbury, in 
the course of his botanical researches, found a surprising number 
in a half torpid state, under fiat stones upon the banks which 
overhung the cantonment, and narrowly escaped being struck by 
a rattlesnake, which darted at him from a cleft in the rock, but 
fortunately gave him warning by its rattle. 

The pigeons too were filling the woods in vast migratory 
flocks. It is almost incredible to describe the prodigious flights of 
these birds in the western wildernesses. They appear absolutely 
in clouds, and move with astonishing velocity, their wings making 
a whistling sound as they fly. The rapid evolutions of these 
flocks, v/heeling and shifting suddenly as if with one mind and 
one impulse ; the flashing changes of color they present, as their 
backs, their breasts, or the under part of their wings are turned 
to the spectator, are singularly pleasing. When they alight, if 
on the ground, they cover whole acres at a time ; if upon trees, 
the branches often break beneath their weight. If suddenly 
Btartled while feeding in the midst of a forest, the noise they 
make in getting on the wing is like the roar of a cataract or the 
sound of distant thunder. 



GREAT FLIGHT OF PIGEONS. 155 



A flight of this kind, like an Egyptian flight of locusts, 
devours every thing that serves for its food as it passes along. 
So great were the numbers in the vicinity of the camp that Mr. 
Bradbury, in the course of a morning's excursion, shot nearly 
three hundred with a fowling-piece. He gives a curious, though 
apparently a faithful, account of the kind of discipline observed 
in these immense flocks, so that each may have a chance of pick- 
ing up food. As the front ranks must meet with the greatest 
abundance, and the rear ranks must have scanty pickings, the 
instant a rank finds itself the hindmost, it rises in the air, flies 
over the whole flock, and takes its place in the advance. The 
nest rank follows in its course, and thus the last is continually 
becoming first, and all by turns have a front place at the banquet. 

The rains having at length subsided, Mr. Hunt broke up the 
encampment and resumed his course up the Missouri. 

The party now consisted of nearly sixty persons : of whom five 
were partners ; one, John Reed, was a clerk ; forty were Cana- 
dian " voyageurs," or " engages^'' and there were several hunters. 
They embarked in four boats, one of which was of a large size, 
mounting a swivel and two howitzers. All were furnished with 
masts and sails, to be used when the wind was sufficiently favora- 
ble and strong to overpower the current of the river. Such was 
the case for t^te first four or five days, when they were wafted 
steadily up the stream by a strong southeaster. 

Their encampments at night were often pleasant and pictu- 
resfjue : on some beautiful bank, beneath spreading trees, which 
afibrded them shelter and fuel. The tents were pitched, the fires 
made, and the meals prepared by the voyageurs, and many a story 
was told, and joke passed, and iong sung, round the evening fire. 
All, however, were asleep at an early hour. Some under the 
tents, others wrapped in blankets before the fire, or beneath tho 
trees : and some ^pw in tlse boats and canoes. 



156 ASTORIA. 

On the 28tli, they breakfasted on one of the islands which lie 
at the mouth of the Nebraska or Platte River ; the largest trib- 
utary of the Missouri, and about six hundred miles above its 
confluence with the Mississippi. This broad but shallow stream 
flows for an immense distance through a wide and verdant valley, 
scooped out of boundless prairies. It draws its main supplies, 
by several forks or branches, from the Rocky Mountains. The 
mouth of this river is established as the dividing point between 
the upper and lower Missouri ; and the earlier voyagers, in their 
toilsome ascent, before the introduction of steamboats, considered 
one-half of their labors accomplished when they reached this place. 
The passing of the mouth of the Nebraska, therefore, was equiva- 
lent among boatmen to the crossing of the line among sailors, 
and was celebrated with like ceremonials of a rough and waggish 
nature, practised upon the uninitiated ; among which was the old 
nautical joke of shaving. The river deities, however, like those 
of the sea, were to be propitiated by a bribe, and the infliction of 
these rude honors to be parried by a treat to the adepts. 

At the mouth of the Nebraska new signs were met with of 
war parties which had recently been in the vicinity. There was 
the frame of a skin canoe, in which the warriors had traversed 
the river. At night, also, the lurid reflection of immense fires 
hung in the sky, showing the conflagration of grea,t tracts of the 
prairies. Such fires not being made by hunters so late in the 
season, it was supposed they were caused by some wandering war 
parties. These often take the precaution to set the prairies on 
fire behind them to conceal their traces from their enemies. This 
is chiefly done when the party has been unsuccessful, and is on the 
retreat, and apprehensive of pursuit. At such time it is not safe 
even for friends to fall in with them, as they are apt to be in 
savage humor, and disposed to vent their spleen in capricious 
outrage. These signs, therefore, of a band of marauders on 



DESERTION OF TWO HUNTERS. 157 



the prowl, called for some degree of vigilance on the part of the 
travellers. 

After passing the Nebraska, the party halted for part of two 
days on the bank of the river, a little above Papillion Creek, to 
supply themselves with a stock of oars and poles from the tough 
wood of the ash, which is not met with higher up the Missouri. 
While the voyageurs were thus occupied, the naturalists rambled 
over the adjacent country to collect plants. From the summit 
of a range of bluffs on the opposite side of the river, about two 
hundred and fifty feet high, they had one of those vast and mag- 
nificent prospects which sometimes unfold themselves in these 
boundless regions. Below them was the valley of the Missouri, 
about seven miles in breadth, clad in the fresh verdure of spring ; 
enamelled with flowers and interspersed with clumps and groves 
of noble trees, between which the mighty river poured its turbu- 
lent and turbid stream. The interior of the country presented 
a singular scene ; the immense waste being broken up by innu- 
merable green hills, not above eighty feet in height, but extremely 
steep, and acutely pointed at their summits. A long line of 
bluffs extended for upwards of thirty miles, parallel to the Mis- 
souri, with a shallow lake stretching along their base, which had 
evidently once formed a bed of the river. The surface of this 
lake was covered with aquatic plants, on the broad leaves of which 
numbers of water-snakes, drawn forth by the genial warmth of 
pring, were basking in the sunshine. 

On the 2d of May, at the usual hour of embarking, the camp 
was thrown into some confusion by two of the hunters, named 
Harrington, expressing their intention to abandon the expedition 
and return home. One of these had joined the party in the pre- 
ceding autumn, having been hunting for two years on the Mis 
souri ; the other had engaged at St. Louis, in the following March, 
ind had come up from thence with Mr. Hunt. He now declared 



158 ASTORIA. 

that lie had enlisted merely for the purpose of following his 
brother, and persuading him to return ; having been enjoined to 
do so by his mother, whose anxiety had been awakened by the 
idea of his going on such a wild and distant expedition. 

The loss of two stark hunters and prime riflemen was a seri- 
ous affair to the party, for they were approaching the region 
where they might expect hostilities from the Sioux ; indeed, 
throughout the whole of their perilous journey, the services of 
such men would be all important, for little reliance was to be 
placed upon the valor of the Canadians in case of attack. Mr. 
Hunt endeavored by arguments, expostulations, and entreaties, 
to shake the determination of the two brothers. He represented 
to them that they were between six and seven hundred miles 
above the mouth of the Missouri ; that they would have four 
hundred miles to go before they could reach the habitation of a 
white man, throughout which they would be exposed to all kinds 
of risks ; since he declared, if they persisted in abandoning him 
and breaking their faith, he would not furnish them with a single 
round of ammunition. All was in vain ; they obstinately persist- 
ed in their resolution ; whereupon, Mr. Hunt, partly incited by 
indignation, partly by the policy of deterring others from deser- 
tion, put his threat in execution, and left them to find their way 
back to the settlements without, as he supposed, a single bullet or 
charge of powder. 

The Doats now continued their slow and toilsome course for 
several days, against the current of the river. The late signs 
of roaming war parties caused a vigilant watch to be kept up at 
night when the crews encamped on shore ; nor was this vigilance 
superfluous ; for on the night of the seventh instant, there was a 
wild and fearful yell, and eleven Sioux warriors, stark naked 
with tomahawks in their hands, rushed into the camp. They 
were instantly surrounded and seized, whereupon their leadeT 



VILLAGE OF THE OMAHAS. 159 



callod out to his followers to desist from any violence, and pre- 
tended to be perfectly pacific in his intentions. It proved, how- 
ever, that they were a part of the war party, the skeleton of 
whose canoe had been seen at the mouth of the river Platte, and 
the reflection of whose fires had been descried in the air. They 
had been disappointed or defeated in their foray, and in their 
rage and mortification these eleven warriors had " devoted their 
clothes to the medicine." This is a desperate act of Indian braves 
when foiled in war, and in dread of scoffs and sneers. In such 
case they sometimes throw off their clothes and ornaments, de- 
vote themselves to the Great Spirit, and attempt some reckless 
exploit with which to cover their disgrace. Woe to any defence- 
less party of white men that may then fall in their way ! 

Such was the explanation given by Pierre Dorion, the half- 
breed interpreter, of this wild intrusion into the camp ; and the 
party were so exasperated when apprized of the sanguinary in- 
tentions of the prisoners, that they were for shooting them on 
the spot. Mr. Hunt, however, exerted his usual moderation and 
humanity, and ordered that they should be conveyed across the 
river in one of the boats, threatening them, however, with certain 
death, if again caught in any hostile act. 

On the 10th of May the party arrived at the Omaha (pro- 
nounced Omawhaw) village, about eight hundred and thirty miles 
abova the mouth of the Missouri, and encamped in its neighbor- 
hood. The village was situated under a hill on the bank of the 
river, and consisted of about eighty lodges. These were of a 
circular and conical form, and about sixteen feet in diameter ; 
being mere tents of dressed buffalo skins, sewed together and 
stretched on long poles, inclined towards each other so as to 
cross at about half their height. Thus the naked tops of the 
poles diverge in such a manner that, if they were covered with 
fikins like the lower ends, the tent would be shaped like an hour 



160 ASTORIA. 

glass, and present the appearance of one cone inverted on tLe 
apex of another. 

The forms of In dian lodges are worthy of attention, each tribe 
having a different mode of shaping and arranging them^ so that 
it is easy to tell, on seeing a lodge or an encampment at a dis- 
tance, to what tribe the inhabitants belong. The exterior of the 
Omaha lodges have often a gay and fanciful appearance, being 
painted with undulating bands of red or yellow, or decorated 
with rude figures of horses, deer, and buff"aloes, and with human 
faces, painted like full moons, four and five feet broad. 

The Omahas were once one of the numerous and powerful 
tribes of the prairies, vying in warlike might and prowess with 
the Sioux, the Pawnees, the Sauks, the Konzas, and the latans. 
Their wars with the Sioux, however, had thinned their ranks, and 
the smallpox in 1802 had swept off two-thirds of their number. 
At the time of Mr. Hunt's visit they still boasted about two 
hundred warriors and hunters, but they are now fast melting 
away, and before long, will be numbered among those extin- 
guished nations of the west that exist but in tradition. 

In his correspondence with Mr. Astor, from this point of his 
journey, Mr. Hunt gives a sad account of the Indian tribes bor- 
dering on the river. They were in continual war with each 
other, and their wars were of the most harassing kind ; consist- 
ing, not merely of main conflicts and expeditions of moment, 
involving the sackings, burnings and massacres of towns and 
villages, but of individvial acts of treachery, murder, and cold- 
blooded cruelty ; oi of vaunting and foolhardy exploits of single 
warriors, either to avenge some personal wrong, or gain the vain- 
glorious trophy of a scalp. The lonely hunter, the wandering 
wayfarer, the poor squaw cutting wood or gathering corn, was 
liable to be surprised and slaughtered. In this way tribes were 
either swept away at once, or gradually thinned out, and savage 



BLACKBIRD, THE OMAHA CHIEF. 161 



life was surrounded with constant horrors and alarms. That the 
race of red men should diminish from year to year, and so few 
should survive of the numerous nations which evidently once 
peopled the vast regions of the west, is nothing surprising ; it is 
rather matter of surprise that so many should survive ; for the 
existence of a savage in these parts seems little better than a 
prolonged and all-besetting death. It is, in fact, a caricature of 
the boasted romance of feudal times ; chivalry in its native and 
uncultured state, and knight-errantry run wild. 

In their more prosperous days, the Omahas looked upon 
themselves as the most powerful and perfect of human beings, and 
considered all created things as made for their peculiar use and 
benefit. It is this tribe of whose chief, the famous Wash-ing-guh- 
sah-ba, or Blackbird, such savage and romantic stories are told. 
He had died about ten years previous to the arrival of Mr. Hunt's 
party, but his name was still mentioned with awe by his people. 
He was one of the first among the Indian chiefs on the Missouri 
to deal with the white traders, and showed great sagacity in levy- 
ing his royal dues. When a trader arrived in his village, he 
caused all his goods to be brought into his lodge and opened. 
From these he selected whatever suited his sovereign pleasure ; 
blankets, tobacco, whisky, powder, ball, beads and red paint ; and 
laid the articles on one side, without deigning to give any com- 
pensation. Then calling to him his herald or crier, he would 
order him to mount on top of the lodge and summon all the tribe 
to bring in their peltries, and trade with the white man. The 
lodge would soon be crowded with Indians bringing bear, beaver, 
otter, and other skins. No one was allowed to dispute the prices 
fixed by the white trader upon his articles ; who took care to in- 
demnify himself five times over for the goods set apart by the 
chief In this way the Blackbird enriched himself, and enriched 
the white men, and became exceedingly popular among the traders 



162 ASTORIA. 



of the Missouri. His people, however, were not equally satisfied 
by a regulation of trade which worked so manifestly against 
them, and began to show signs of discontent. Upon this a crafty 
and unprincipled trader revealed a secret to the Blackbird, by 
which he might acquire unbounded sway over his ignorant and 
superstitious subjects. He instructed him in the poisonous qua- 
lities of arsenic, and furnished him with an ample supply of that 
baneful drug. From this time the Blackbird seemed endowed 
with supernatural powers, to possess the gift of prophecy, and to 
hold the disposal of life and death within his hands. Woe to any 
one who questioned his authority or dared to dispute his com- 
mands ! The Blackbird prophesied his death within a certain 
time, and he had the secret means of verifying his prophecy. 
AVithia the fated period the offender was smitten with strange 
and sudden disease, and perished from the face of the earth. 
Every one stood aghast at these multiplied examples of his super- 
human might, and dreaded to displease so omnipotent and vin- 
dictive a being; and the Blackbird enjoyed a wide and undis- 
puted sway. 

It was not, however, by terror alone that he ruled his people ; 
he was a warrior of the first order, and his exploits in arms were 
the theme of young and old. His career had begun by hard- 
ships, having been taken prisoner by the Sioux, in early youth. 
Under his command, the Omahas obtained great character for 
military prowess, nor did he permit an insult or injury to one 
of his tribe to pass unrevenged. The Pawnee republicans had 
inflicted a gross indignity on a favorite and distinguished Omaha 
brave. The Blackbird assembled his warriors, led them against 
the Pawnee town, attacked it with irresistible fury, slaughtered 
a great number of its inhabitants, and burnt it to the ground. 
He waged fierce and bloody war against the Ottoes for many 
years, until peace was effected between them by the mediation of 



THE POWER OF BEAUTY. 163 



the whites. Feai-less in battle, and fond of signalizing himself, 
he dazzled his followers by daring acts. In attacking a Kanza 
village, he rode singly round it, loading and discharging his rifle 
at the inhabitants as he galloped past them. He kept up in war 
the same idea of mysterious and supernatural power. At one 
time, when pursuing a war party by their tracks across the 
prairies, he repeatedly discharged his rifle into the prints made 
by their feet and by the hoofs of their horses, assuring his fol- 
lowers that he would thereby cripple the fugitives, so that they 
would easily be overtaken. He in fact did overtake them, and 
destroyed them almost to a man ; and his victory was considered 
miraculous, both by friend and foe. By these and similar exploits, 
he made himself the pride and boast of his people, and became 
popular among them, notwithstanding his death-denouncing fiat. 
With all his savage and terrific qualities, he was sensible of 
the power of female beauty, and capable of love. A war party 
of the Poncas had made a foray into the lands of the Omahas, 
and carried off a number of women and horses. The Blackbird 
was roused to fury, and took the field with all his braves, swear- 
ing to " eat up the Ponca nation," — the Indian tnreat of exter- 
minating war. The Poncas, sorely pressed, took refuge behind 
a rude bulwark of earth ; but the Blackbird kept up so galling a 
fire, that he seemed likely to execute his menace. In their 
extremity they sent forth a herald, bearing the calumet or pipe 
of peace, but he was shot down by order of the Blackbird. 
Another herald was sent forth in similar guise, but he shared a 
like fate. The Ponca chief then, as a last hope, arrayed his 
beautiful daughter in her finest ornaments, and sent her forth 
with a calumet, to sue for peace. The charms of the Indian maid 
touched the stern heart of the Blackbird ; he accepted the pipe 
at her hand, smoked it, and from that time a peace took place 
between the Poncas and the Omahas. 



164 ASTORIA. 



This beautiful damsel, in all probability, was the favorite 
wife whose fate makes so tragic an incident in the story of the 
Blac]»;bird. Her youth and beauty had gained an absolute sway 
over his rugged heart, so that he distinguished her above all his 
other wives. The habitual gratification of his vindictive im 
pulses, however^ had taken away from him all mastery over his 
passions, and rendered him liable to the most furious transports 
of rage. In one of these his beautiful wife had the misfortune 
to offend him, when suddenly drawing his knife, he laid her dead 
at his feet with a single blow. 

In an instant his frenzy was at an end. He gazed for a 
time in mute bewilderment upon his victim ; then drawing his 
buffalo robe over his head, he sat down beside the corpse, and 
remained brooding over his crime and his loss. Three days 
elapsed, yet the chief continued silent and motionless ; tasting 
no food, and apparently sleepless. It was apprehended that he 
intended to starve himself to death ; his people approached him 
in trembling awe, and entreated him once more to uncover his 
face and be comforted ; but he remained unmoved. At length 
one of his warriors brought in a small child, and laying it on 
the ground, placed the foot of the Blackbird upon its neck. The 
heart of the gloomy savage was touched by this appeal ; he 
threw aside his robe ; made an harangue upon what he had 
done ; and from that time forward seemed to have thrown the 
load of grief and remorse from his mind. 

He still retained his fatal and mysterious secret, and with it 
his terrific power ; but, though able to deal death to his ene- 
mies, he coiild not avert it from himself or his friends. In 1802 
the smallpox, that dreadful pestilence, which swept over the laud 
like a fire over the prairie, made its appearance in the village of 
the Omahas. The poor savages saw with dismay the ravages of 
a malady, loathsome and agonizing in its details, and which set 



DEATH OF BLACKBIRD. JG5 



the skill and experience of their conjurers and medicine men at 
defiance. In a little while, two-thirds of the population were 
swept from the face of the earth, and the doom of the rest 
seemed sealed. The stoicism of the warriors was at an end ; 
they became wild and desperate ; some set fire to the village as 
a last means of checking the pestilence ; others, in a frenzy of 
despair put their wives and children to death, that they might 
be spared the agonies of an inevitable disease, and that they 
might all go to some better country. 

When the general horror and dismay was at its height, the 
Blackbird himself was struck down with the malady. The poor 
savages, when they saw their chief in danger, forgot their own 
miseries, and surrounded his dying bed. His dominant spirit, 
and his love for the white men, were evinced in his latest breath, 
with which he designated his place of sepulture. It was to be 
on a hill or promontory, upwards of four hundred feet in height, 
overlooking a great extent of the Missouri, from whence he had 
been accustomed to watch for the barks of the white men. The 
Missouri washes the base of the promontory, and after winding 
and doubling in many links and mazes in the plain below, returns 
to within nine hundred yards of its starting-place ; so that for 
thirty miles navigating with sail and oar, the voyager finds him- 
self continually near to this singular jDromontory as if spell-bound. 

It was the dying command of the Blackbird that his tomb 
should be upon the summit of this hill, in which he should be 
interred, seated on his favorite horse, that he might overlook his 
ancient domain, and behold the barks of the white men as they 
came up the river to trade with his people. 

His dying orders were faithfully obeyed. His corpse was 
placed astride of his war-steed, and a mound raised over them on 
the summit of the hill. On top of the mound was erected a staff, 
from which fluttered the banner of the chieftain, and the scalpa 



166 ASTORIA. 

that he had taken in battle. When the expedition under Mr. 
Hunt visited that part of the country, the staflf still remained 
with the fragments of the banner ; and the superstitious rite of 
placing food from time to time on the mound, for the use of the 
deceased, was still observed by the Omahas. That rite has since 
fallen into disuse, for the tribe itself is almost extinct. Yet the 
hill of the Blackbird continues an object of veneration to the 
wandering savage, and a landmark to the voyager of the Mis&ouri : 
and as the civilized traveller comes within sight of its spell-bound 
crest, the mound is pointed out to him from afar, which still 
incloses the grim skeletons of the Indian warrior and his horse. 



RUMORS OF DANGER, 167 



CHAPTER XVII. 

While Mr. Hunt and his party were sojourning at the village of 
the Omahas, three Sioux Indians of the Yankton Ahna tribe 
arrived, bringing unpleasant intelligence. They reported that 
certain bands of the Sioux Tetons, who inhabited a region many 
leagues further up the Missouri, were near at hand, awaiting the 
approach of the party, with the avowed intention of opposing 
their progress. 

The Sioux Tetons were at that time a sort of pirates of the 
Missouri, who considered the well-freighted bark of the American 
trader fair game. They had their own trahi^ with the British 
merchants of the northwest, who brought them regular supplies 
of merchandise by way of the river St. Peter. Being thus inde- 
pendent of the Missouri traders for their supplies, they kept 
no terms with them, but plundered them whenever they had an 
opportunity. It has been insinuated that they were prompted 
to these outrages by the British merchants, who wished to keep 
off all rivals in the Indian trade ; but others allege another mo- 
tive, and one savoring of a deeper policy. The Sioux, by their 
intercourse with the British traders, had acquired the use of fire- 
arms, which had given them vast superiority over other tribes 
higher up the Missouri. They had made themselves also, in a 
manner, factors for the upper tribes, supplj'ing them at second 
hand, and at greatly advanced prices, with goods derived from 
the white men. The Sioux, therefore, saw with jealousy the 
American traders pushing their way up the Missouri ; foreseeing 



J 68 ASTORIA. 

that the upper tribes would thus be relieved from al I dependence 
on them for supplies ; nay, what was worse, would be furnished 
with firearms, and elevated into formidable rivals. 

We have already alluded to a case in which Mr. Crooks and 
Mr. M'Lellan had been interrupted in a trading voyage by these 
ruffians of the river, and, as it is in some degree connected with 
circumstances hereafter to be related, we shall specify it more 
particularly. 

About two years before the time of which we are treating, 
Crooks and M'Lellan were ascending the river in boats with a 
party of about forty men, bound on one of their trading expedi- 
tions to the upper tribes. In one of the bends of the river, 
where the channel made a deep curve under impending banks, 
they suddenly heard yells and shouts above them, and beheld the 
cliiFs overhead covered with armed savages. It was a band of 
Sioux warriors, upwards of six hundred strong. They bran- 
dished their weapons in a menacing manner, and ordered the 
boats to turn back and land lower down the river. There was 
no disputing these commands, for they had the power to shower 
destruction upon the white men, without risk to themselves. 
Crooks and M'Lellan, therefore, turned back with feigned alac- 
rity ; and, landing, had an interview with the Sioux. The latter 
forbade them, under pain of exterminating hostility, from attempt- 
ing to proceed up the river, but offered to trade peacefully with 
them if they would halt where they were. The party, being prin- 
cipally composed of voyageurs, was too weak to contend with so 
superior a force, and one so easily augmented ; they pretended, 
therefore, to comply cheerfully with their arbitrary dictation, and 
immediately proceeded to cut down trees and erect a trading 
house. The warrior band departed for their village, which was 
about twenty miles distant, to collect objects of traffic ; they left 
six or eight of their number, however, to keep watch upon the 



M'LELLAN'S VOW. 169 



white men, and scouts were continually passing to and fro with 
intelligence. 

Mr. Crooks saw that it would be impossible to prosecute his 
voyage without the danger of having his boats plundered, and a 
great part of his men massacred ; he determined, however, not to be 
entirely frustrated in the (rbjects of his expedition. "While he con- 
tinued, therefore, with great apparent earnestness and assiduity, 
the construction of the trading house, he dispatched the hunters 
and trappers of his party in a canoe, to make their way up the 
river to the original place of destination, there to busy themselves 
in trapping and collecting peltries, and to await his arrival at 
some future period. 

As soon as the detachment had had sufficient time to ascend 
beyond the hostile country of the Sioux, Mr. Crooks suddenly 
broke up his feigned trading establishment, embarked his men 
and effects, and, after giving the astonished rear-guard of savages 
a galling and indignant message to take to their countrymen, 
pushed down the river with all speed, sparing neither oar nor 
paddle, day nor night, until fairly beyond the swoop of these 
river hawks. 

What increased the irritation of Messrs. Crooks and M'Lel- 
lan at this mortifying check to their gainful enterprise, was the 
information that a rival trader was at the bottom of it ; the Sioux, 
it is said, having be-.m instigated to this outrage by Mr. Manuel 
Lisa, the leading partner and agent of the Missouri Fur Com- 
pany, already mentioned. This intelligence, whether true or 
false, so roused the fiery t^ per of M'Lellan, that he swore, if 
ever he fell in with Lisa in the Indian country, he would shoot 
him on the spot ; a mode of redress perfectly in unison with the 
character of the man, and the code of honor prevalent beyond 
the frontier. 

If Crooks and M'Lellan had been exasperated by the insolent 

8 



170 ASTORIA. 

conduct of the Sioux Tetons, and the loss which it had occasioned^ 
those freebooters had been no less indignant at being outwitted 
by the white men, and disappointed of their anticij)ated gains, 
and it was apprehended they would be particularly hostile against 
the present expedition, when they should learn that these gentle- 
men wei'e engaged in it. 

All these causes of uneasiness were concealed as much as 
possible from the Canadian voyageurs, lest they should become 
intimidated ; it was impossible, however, to prevent the rumors 
brought by the Indians from leaking out, and they became sub- 
jects of gossiping and exaggeration. The chief of the Omahas, 
too, on returning from a hunting excursion, reported that two 
men had been killed some distance above, by a band of Sioux. 
This added to the fears that alread}' began to be excited. The 
voyageurs pictured to themselves bands of fierce warriors sta- 
tioned along each bank of the river, by whom they would be ex- 
posed to be shot down in their boats : or lurking hordes, who 
would set on them at night, and massacre them in their encamp- 
ments. Some lost heart, and proposed to return, rather than 
fight their way, and, in a manner, run the gauntlet through the 
country of these piratical marauders. In fact, three men de- 
serted wliile at this village. Luckily, their place was supplied by 
three others who happened to be there, and who were prevailed 
on to join the expedition by promises of liberal pay, and by being 
fitted out and equipped in complete style. 

The irresolution and discontent visible among some of his 
people, arising at times almost to mutiny, and the occasional 
desertions which took place while thus among friendly tribes, and 
within reach of the frontiers, added greatly to the anxieties of 
Mr. Hunt, and rendered him eager to press forward and leave a 
hostile tract behind him, so that it would be as perilous to return 
as to keep on, and no one would dare to desert. 



DEPARTURE FROM THE OMAHA VILLAGE. 171 



Accordingly, on the 15tli of May lie departed from the village 
of the Omahas, and set forward towards the country of the formi- 
dable Sioux Tetons. For the first five days they had a fair and 
fresh breeze, and the boats made good progress. The wind then 
came ahead, and the river beginning to rise, and to increase in 
rapidity, betokened the commencement of the annual flood, caused 
by the melting of the snow on the Rocky Mountains, and the ver- 
nal rains of the upper jrairies. 

As they were now entering a region where foes might be lying 
in wait on either bank, it was determined, in hunting for game, to 
confine themselves principally to the islands, which sometimes ex- 
tend to considerable length, and are beautifully wooded, affording 
abundant pasturage and shade. On one of these they killed three 
buffaloes and two elks, and, halting on the edge of a beautiful 
prairie, made a sumptuous hunter's repast. They had not long 
resumed their boats and pulled along the river banks, when they 
descried a canoe approaching, navigated by two men, whom, to 
their surprise, they ascertained to be white men. They proved 
to be two of those strange and fearless wanderers of the wilder- 
ness, the trappers. Their names were Benjamin Jones and 
Alexander Carson. They had been for two years past hunting 
and trapping near the head of the Missouri, and were thus float- 
ing for thousands of miles in a cockle shell, down a turbulent 
■stream, through regions infested by savage tribes, yet apparently 
as easy and unconcerned as if navigating securely in the midst of 
civilization. 

The acquisition of two such hardy, experienced, and dauntless 
hunters was peculiarly desirable at the present moment. They 
needed but little persuasion. The wilderness is the home of the 
trapper ; like the sailor^ he cares but little to which point of the 
compass he steers ; and Jones and Carson readily abandoned 



172 ASTORIA. 

their voyage to St. Louis, and turned their faces towards the 
Rocky Mountains and the Pacific. 

The two naturalists, Mr. Bradbury and Mr. Nuttall, who had 
joined the expedition at St. Louis, still accompanied it, and pur- 
sued their researches on all occasions. Mr. Nuttall seems to 
have been exclusively devoted to his scientific pursuits. He was 
a zealous botanist, and all his enthusiasm was awakened at be- 
holding a new world, as it were, opening upon him in the bound- 
less prairies, clad in the vernal and variegated robe of unknown 
flowers. Whenever the boats landed at meal times, or for any 
temporary purpose, he would spring on shore, and set out on a 
hunt for new specimens. Every plant or flower of a rare or 
unknown species was eagerly seized as a prize. Delighted with 
the treasures spreading themselves out before him, he went grop- 
ing and stumbling along among a wilderness of sweets, forgetful 
of every thing but his immediate pursuit, and had often to be 
sought after when the boats were about to resume their course. 
At such times he would be found far ofi" in the prairies, or up the 
course of some petty stream, laden with plants of all kinds. 

The Canadian voyageurs, who are a class of people that 
know nothing out of their immediate line, and with constitu- 
tional levity make a jest of any thing they cannot understand, 
were extremely puzzled by this passion for collecting what they 
considered mere useless weeds. When they saw the worthy bota- 
nist coming back heavy laden with his specimens, and treasuring 
them up as carefully as a miser would his hoard, they used to 
make merry among themselves at his expense, regarding him as 
some whimsical kind of madman. 

Mr. Bradbury was less exclusive in his tastes and habits, and 
combined the hunter and sportsman with the naturalist. Ho 
took his rifle or his fowling-piece with him in his geological 



ADVENTURE WITH AN INDIAN. 173 



researches, conformed to the hardy and rugged habits of the 
men around him, and of course gained favor in their eyes. He 
had a strong relish for incident and adventure, was curious in 
observing savage manners, and savage life, and ready to join any 
hunting or other excursion. Even now, that the expedition was 
proceeding through a dangerous neighborhood, he could not 
check his propensity to ramble. Having observed, on the eve- 
ning of the 22d of May, that the river ahead made a great bend 
which would take up the navigation of the following day, he 
determined to profit by the circumstance. On the morning of 
the 23d, therefore, instead of embarking, he filled his shot-pouch 
with parched corn, for provisions, and set off to cross the neck 
on foot and meet the boats in the afternoon at the opposite side 
of the bend. Mr. Hunt felt uneasy at his venturing thus alone, 
and reminded him that he was in an enemy's country ; but Mr. 
Bradbury made light of the danger, and started off cheerily upon 
his ramble. His day was passed pleasantly in traversing a 
beautiful tract, making botanical and geological researches, and 
observing the habits of an extensive village of prairie dogs, at 
which he made several ineffectual shots, without considering the 
risk he run of attracting the attention of any savages that might 
be lurking in the neighborhood. In fact he had totally forgotten 
the Sioux Tetons, and all the other perils of the country, when, 
about the middle of the afternoon, as he stood near the river 
bank, and was looking out for the boat, he suddenly felt a hand 
laid on his shoulder. Starting and turning round, he beheld a 
naked savage with a bow bent, and the arrow pointed at his 
breast. In an instant his gun was levelled and his hand upon 
the lock. The Indian drew his bow still further, but forbore to 
launch the shaft. Mr. Bradbury, with admirable presence of 
mind, reflected that the savage, if hostile in his intents, would 
have shot him without giving him a chance of defence ; he 



174 ASTORIA. 



paused, therefore, and held out Lis hand. The other took it in 
sign of friendship, and demanded in the Osage language whether 
he was a Big Knife, or American. He answered in the affirma- 
tive, and inquired whether the other were a Sioux. To his 
great relief he found that he was a Ponca. By this time two 
other Indians came running up, and all three laid hold of Mr. 
Bradbury and seemed disposed to compel him to go off with 
them among the hills. He resisted, and sitting dowQ on a sand 
hill contrived to amuse them with a pocket compass. When the 
novelty of this was exhausted they again seized him, but he now 
produced a small microscope. This new wonder again fixed the 
attention of the savages, who have far more curiosity than it 
has been the custom to allow them. While thus engaged, one 
of them suddenly leaped up and gave a war-whoop. The hand 
of the hardy naturalist was again on his gun, and he was pre- 
pared to make battle, when the Indian pointed down the river 
and revealed the true cause of his yell. It was the mast of one 
of the boats appearing above the low willows which bordered the 
stream. Mr. Bradbury felt infinitely relieved by the sight. 
The Indians on their part now showed signs of apprehension, 
and were disposed to run away ; but he assured them of good 
treatment and something to drink if they would accompany 
him on board of the boats. They lingered for a time, but dis- 
appeared before the boats came to land. 

On the following morning they appeared at the camp accom- 
panied by several of their tribe. With them came also a white 
man, who announced himself as a messenger bearing missives for 
Mr. Hunt. In fact he brought a letter from Mr. Manuel Lisa, part- 
ner and agent of the Missouri Fur Company. As has already 
been mentioned, this gentleman was going in search of Mr. Henry 
and his party, who had been dislodged from the forks of the 
Missouri by the Blackfeet Indians, and had shifted his post 



UNWELCOME MISSIVES. 175 



somewliere beyond the Rocky Mountains. Mr. Lisa had left St. 
Louis three -weeks after Mr. Hunt, and having heard of the hos- 
tile intentions of the Sioux, had made the greatest exertions to 
overtake him, that they might pass through the dangerous part 
of the river together. He had twenty stout oarsmen in his service, 
and they plied their oars so vigorously, that he had reached the 
Omaha village just four days after the departure of Mr. Hunt. 
From this place he dispatched the messenger in question, trust- 
ing to his overtaking the barges as they toiled up against the 
stream, and were delayed by the windings of the river. The 
purport of his letter was to entreat Mr. Hunt to wait until he 
could come up with him, that they might unite their forces and 
be a protection to each other in their perilous course through the 
country of the Sioux. In fact, as it was afterwards ascertained, 
Lisa was apprehensive that Mr. Hunt would do him some ill 
office with the Sioux bands, securing his own passage through 
their country by pretending that he with whom they were accus- 
tomed to trade, was on his way to them with a plentiful supply 
of goods. He feai-ed, too, that Crooks and M'Lellan would take 
this opportunity to retort upon him the perfidy which they 
accused him of having used, two years previously, among these 
very Sioux. In this respect, however, he did them signal injus- 
tice. There was no such thing as covert design or treachery in 
their thought ; but M'Lellan, when he heard that Lisa was on his 
way up the river, renewed his open threat of shooting him the 
moment he met him on Indian land. 

The representations made by Ciooks and M'Lellan of the 
treachery they had experienced, or fancied, on the j)art of Lisa, 
had great weight with Mr. Hunt, especially when he recollected 
the obstacles that had been thrown in his own way by that gen- 
tleman at St. Louis. He doubted, therefore, the fair dealing of 
Lisa, and feared that, should they enter the Sioux country 



176 ASTORIA. 

together, the latter might make use of his influence with tnat 
tribe, as he had in the case of Crooks and M'Lellan, and instigate 
them to oppose his progress up the river. 

He sent back, therefore, an answer calculated to beguile Lisa, 
assuring him that he would wait for him at the Poncas village, 
which was but a little distance in advance ; but, no sooner had 
the messenger departed, than he pushed forward with all dili- 
gence, barely stopping at the village to procure a supply of dried 
buffalo meat, and hastening to leave the other party as far behind 
as possible, thinking there was less to be apprehended from the 
open hostility of Indian foes, than from the quiet strategy of an 
Indian trader. 



CAMP GOSSIP. 177 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

It was about noon when the party left the Poncas viUagc, about 
a league beyond which they passed the mouth of the Quicourt, or 
Rapid River, (called, in the original French, I' Emi Qui Court.) 
After having proceeded some distance further, they landed, and 
encamped for the night. In the evening camp, the voyageurs 
gossiped, as usual, over the events of the day ; and especially 
over intelligence picked up among the Poncas. These Indians 
had confirmed the previous reports of the hostile intentions of 
the Sioux, and had assured them that five tribes, or bands, of that 
fierce nation were actually assembled higher up the river, and 
Avaiting to cut them ofi". This evening gossip, and the terrific 
stories of Indian warfare to which it gave rise, produced a strong 
efiect upon the imaginations of the irresolute ; and in the morn- 
ing it was discovered that the two men, who had joined the party 
at the Omaha village, and been so bounteously fitted out, had de- 
serted in the course of the night, carrying with them all their 
equipments. As it was known that one of them could not swim, 
it was hoped that the banks of the Quicourt River would bring 
them to a halt. A general pursuit was therefore instituted, but 
without success. 

On the following morning, (May 26th,) as they were all on 
shore, breakfasting on one of the beautiful banks of the river, 
they observed two canoes descending along the opposite side. By 
the aid of spy-glasses, they ascertained that there were two white 

7* 



178 . ASTORIA. 

men in one of the canoes, and one in the other. A gun was dis 
charged, which called the attention of the voyagers, who crossed 
over. They proved to be three Kentucky hunters, of the true 
" dreadnought " stamp. Their names were Edward Robinson, 
John Hoback, and Jacob Rizner. Robinson was a veteran back- 
woodman, sixty-six years of age. He had been one of the first 
settlers of Kentucky, and engaged in many of the conflicts of the 
Indians on " The Bloody Ground." In one of these battles he 
had been scalped, and he still wore a handkerchief bound round 
his head to protect the part. These men had passed several 
years in the upper wilderness. They had been in the service of 
the Missouri Company under Mr. Henry, and had crossed the 
Rocky Mountains with him in the preceding year, when driven 
from his post on the Missouri by the hostilities of the Blackfeet. 
After crossing the mountains, Mr. Henry had established him- 
self on one of the head branches of the Columbia River. There 
they had remained with him for some months, hunting and trap- 
ping, until, having satisfied their wandering propensities, they felt 
disposed to return to the families and comfortable homes which 
they had left in Kentucky. They had accordingly made their 
way back across the mountains, and down the rivers, and were in 
full career for St. Louis, when thus suddenly interrupted. The 
sight of a powerful party of traders, trappers, hunters, and voya- 
geurs, well armed and equipped, furnished at all points, in high 
health and spirits, and banqueting lustily on the green margin of 
the river, was a spectacle equally stimulating to these veteran 
backwoodmen with the glorious array of a campaigning army to 
an old soldier ; but when they learned the grand scope and extent 
of the enterprise in hand, it was irresistible : homes and families, 
and all the charms of green Kentucky vanished from their 
thoughts ; they cast loose their canoes to drift down the stream, 
9,nd joyfully enlisted in the band of adventurers. They engaged 



DANGER FROM THE BLACKFEET. 179 



on similar terms with some of the other hunters. The company 
was to fit them out, and keep them supplied with the requisite 
equipments and munitions, and they were to yield one-half of the 
produce of their hunting and trapping. 

The addition of three such stanch recruits was extremely 
acceptable at this dangerous part of the river. The knowledge 
of the country which they had acquired, also, in their journeys 
and hunting excursions along the rivers and among the Rocky 
Mountains, was all important ; in fact, the information derived 
from them induced Mr. Hunt to alter his future course. He had 
hitherto intended to proceed by the route taken by Lewis and 
Clarke in their famous exploring expedition, ascending the Mis- 
souri to its forks, and thence going, by land, across the moun- 
tains. These men informed him, however, that on taking that 
course he would have to pass through the country infested by 
the savage tribe of the Blackfeet, and would be exposed to their 
hostilities ; they being, as has already been observed, exasperated 
to deadly animosity against the whites, on account of the death 
of one of their tribe by the hands of Captain Lewis. They ad- 
vised him rather to pursue a route more to the southward, being 
the same by which they had returned. This would carry them 
over the mountains about where the head waters of the Platte 
and the Yellowstii:ne take their rise, at a place much more easy 
and practicable than that where Lewis and Clarke had crossed. 
In pursuing this course, also, he would pass through a country 
abounding with game, where he would have a better chance of 
procuring a constant supply of provisions than by the other 
route, and would run less risk of molestation from the Blackfeet. 
Should he adopt this advice, it would be better for him to aban- 
don the river at the Aricara town, at which he would arrive in 
the course of a few days. As the Indians at that town possessed 
horses in abundance, he might purchase a sufficient number of 



180 ASTORIA. 

them for his great journey overland, wliich would commence at 
that place. 

After reflecting on this advice, and consulting with his asso- 
ciates, Mr. Hunt came to the determination to follow the route 
thus pointed out, in which the hunters engaged to pilot him. 

The party continued their voyage with delightful May weather. 
The prairies bordering on the river were gayly painted with innu- 
merable flowers, exhibiting the motley confusion of colors of a Tur- 
key carpet. The beautiful islands also, on which they occasionally 
halted, presented the appearance of mingled grove and garden. 
The trees were often covered with clambering grape-vines in 
blossom, which perfumed the air. Between the stately masses of 
the groves were grassy lawns and glades, studded with flowers, or 
interspersed with rose-bushes in full bloom. These islands were 
often the resort of the bufialo, the elk, and the antelope, who had 
made innumerable paths among the trees and thickets, which had 
the effect of the mazy walks and alleys of parks and shrubberies. 
Sometimes, where the river passed between high banks and bluffs, 
the roads, made by the tramp of buffaloes for many ages along 
the face of the heights, looked like so many well-travelled high- 
ways. At other places the banks were banded with great veins 
of iron ore, laid bare by the abrasion of the river. At one place 
the course of the river was nearly in a straight line for about 
fifteen miles. The banks sloped gently to its margin, without a 
single tree, but bordered with grass and herbage of a vivid green. 
Along each bank, for the whole fifteen miles, extended a stripe, 
one hundred yards in breadth, of a deep rusty brown, indicating 
an inexhaustible bed of iron, through the centre of which the 
Missouri had worn* its way. Indications of the continuance of 
this bed were afterwards observed higher up the river. It is, in 
<., st, one of the mineral magazines which nature has provided iu 
the heart of this vast realm of fertility, and which, in connec- 



IRON ORE— A LAND OF DANGER. 181 



tioa witli the immense beds of coal on the same river, seem gar- 
nered up as the elements of the future wealth and power of the 
mighty West. 

The sight of these mineral treasures greatly excited the curi- 
osity of Mr. Bradbury, and it was tantalizing to him to be checked 
in his scientific researches, and obliged to forego his usual ram- 
bles on shore ; but they were now entering the fated country of 
the Sioux Tetons, in which it was dangerous to wander about 
unguarded. 

This country extends for some days' journey along the river, 
and consists of vast prairies, here and there diversified by swell- 
ing hills, and cut up by ravines, the channels of turbid streams 
in the rainy seasons, but almost destitute of water during the 
heats of summer. Here and there, on the sides of the hills, or 
along the alluvial borders and bottoms of the ravines, are groves 
and skirts of forest ; but for the most part the country presented to 
the eye a boundless waste, covered with herbage, but without trees. 

The soil of this immense region is strongly impregnated 
with sulphur, copperas, alum, and glauber salts ; its various 
earths impart a deep tinge to the streams which drain it, and 
these, with the crumbling of the banks along the Missouri, giv(? 
to the waters of that river much of the coloring matter with 
which they are clouded. 

Over this vast tract the roving bands of the Sioux Tetons 
hold their vagrant sway , subsisting by the chase of the buffalo, 
the elk, the deer, and the antelope, and waging ruthless warfare 
with other wandering tribes. 

As the boats made their way up tlie stream bordered by this 
land of danger, many of the Canadian voyageurs, whose fears had 
been awakened, would regard with a distrustful eye the bound- 
less waste extending on each side. All, however, was silent, and 
apparently untenanted by a human being. Now and then a herd 



162 ASTORIA. 

of deer would be seen feeding tranquilly among tlie flowery her 
bage, or a line of buffaloes, like a caravan on its march, moving 
across the distant profile of the prairie. The Canadians, however 
began to apprehend an ambush in every thicket, and to regard 
the broad, tranquil plain as a sailor eyes some shallow and perfi- 
dious sea, which, though smooth and safe to the eye, conceals the 
lurking rock or treacherous shoal. The very name of a Sioux 
became a watchword of terror. Not an elk, a wolf, or any other 
animal, could appear on the hills, but the boats resounded with 
exclamations from stem to stern, " voila les Sioux .'" " vaila les 
SioifX .'" (there are the Sioux ! there are the Sioux !) Whenever 
it was practicable, the night encampment was on some island in 
the centre of the stream. 

On the morning of the 31st of May, as the travellers were 
breakfasting on the right bank of the river, the usual alarm was 
given, but with more reason, as two Indians actually made their 
appearance on a bluff on the opposite or northeast side, and 
harangued them in a loud voice. As it was impossible at that 
distance to distinguish v/hat they said, Mr. Hunt, after breakfast, 
crossed the river with Pierre Dorion, the interpreter, and ad 
vanced boldly to converse with them, while thtf rest remained 
watching, in mute suspense, the movements of the parties. As 
soon as Mr. Hunt landed, one of the Indians disappeared behind 
the hill, but shortly reappeared on horseback, and went scouring 
off across the heights. Mr. Hunt held some conference with the 
remaining savage, and then recrossed the river to his party. 

These two Indians proved to be spies or scouts of a large war 
party encamped about a league off, and numbering two hundred 
and eighty lodges, or about six hundred warriors, of three differ- 
ent tribes of Sioux ; the Yangtons Ahna, the Tetons Bois-bruie, 
and the Tetons Min-na-kine-azzo. They expected daily to be 
reinforced by two other tribes and had been waiting eleven days 



THREATENED HOSTILITIES. 183 



for the arrival of Mr. Hunt's party, witli a determination to 
oppose their "progress up the river ; being resolved to prevent all 
trade of the white men with their enemies the Arickaras, Man- 
dans, and Minatarees. The Indian who had galloped off on 
horseback had gone to give notice of the approach of the party, 
so that they might now look out for some fierce scenes with those 
piratical savages, of whom they had received so many formidable 
accounts. 

The party braced up their spirits to the encounter, and re- 
embarking, pulled resolutely up the stream. An island for some 
time intervened between them and the opposite side of the river ; 
but on clearing the upper end, they came in full view of the 
hostile shore. There was a ridge of hills down which the sav- 
ages were pouring in great numbers, some on horseback, and 
some on foot. Reconnoitering them with the aid of glasses, they 
perceived that they were all in warlike array, painted and deco- 
rated for battle. Their weapons were bows and arrows, and a 
few short carbines, and most of them had round shields. Alto- 
gether they had a wild and gallant appearance, and, taking 
possession of a point which commanded the river, ranged them- 
selves along the bank as if prepared to dispute their passage. 

At sight of this formidable front of war, Mr. Hunt and his 
companions held counsel together. It was plain that the rumors 
they had heard were correct, and the Sioux were determined to 
oppose their progress by force of arms. To attempt to elude 
them and continue along the river was out of the question. The 
strength of the mid-current was too violent to be withstood, and 
the boats were obliged to ascend along the river banks. These 
banks were often high and perpendicular, affording the savages 
frequent stations, from whence, safe themselves, and almost un- 
seen, they might shower down their missiles upon the boats below, 
and retreat at will, without danger from pursuit Nothing 



184 ASTORIA. 

apparently remained, therefore, but to fight or turn ■baclr. The 
Sioux far outnumbered them, it is true, but their own party waa 
about sixty strong, well armed and supplied with ammunition ; 
and, beside their guns and rifles, they had a swivel and two how- 
itzers mounted in the boats. Should they succeed in breaking 
this Indian force by one vigorous assault, it was likely they would 
be deterred from making any future attack of consequence. The 
fighting alternative was, therefore, instantly adopted, and the 
boats pulled to shore nearly opposite to the hostile force. Here 
the arms were all examined and put in order. The swivel and 
howitzers were then loaded with powder and discharged, to let 
the savages know by the report how formidably they were pro- 
vided. The noise echoed along the shores of the river, and must 
have startled the warriors, who were only accustomed to sharp 
reports of rifles. The same pieces were then loaded with as many 
bullets as they would probably bear ; after which the whole party 
embarked, and pulled across the river. The Indians remained 
watching them in silence, their painted forms and visages glaring 
in the sun, and their feathers fluttering in the breeze. The poor 
Canadians eyed them with rueful glances, and now and then a 
fearful ejaculation would escape them. "Parbleu! this is a sad 
scrape we are in, brother !" would one mutter to the next oars 
man. '• Aye, aye !" the other would reply, " we are not going to 
a wedding, my friend !" 

When the boats arrived within rifle shot, the hunters and 
other fighting personages on board seized their weapons, and 
prepared for action. As they rose to fire, a confusion took place 
among the savages. They displayed their bufi"alo robes, raised 
them with both hands above their heads, and then spread them 
before them on the ground. At sight of this, Pierre Dorion 
eagerly cried out to the party not to fire, as this movement was 
a peaceful signal, and an invitation to a parley. Immediately 



THE PIPE OF PEACE. 18S 



about a dozen of the principal warriors, separating from the rest, 
descended to the edge of the river, lighted a fire, seated them- 
selves in a semicircle round it, and, displaying the calumet, in- 
vited the party to land. Mr. Hunt now called a council of the 
partners on board of his boat. The question was, whether to trust 
to the amicable overtures of these ferocious people ? It was de- 
termined in the affirmative ; for, otherwise, there was no alter- 
native but to fight them. The main body of the party were 
ordered to remain on board of the boats, keeping within shot, 
and prepared to fire in case of any signs of treachery ; while Mr. 
Hunt and the other partners (M'Kenzie, Crooks, Miller, and 
M'Lellan,) proceeded to land, accompanied by the interpreter 
and Mr. Bradbury. The chiefs, who awaited them on the mar- 
gin of the river, remained seated in their semicircle, without 
stirring a limb or moving a muscle, motionless as so many 
statues. Mr. Hunt and his companions advanced without hesi- 
tation, and took their seats on the sand so as to complete the 
circle. The band of warriors who lined the banks above stood 
looking down in silent groups and clusters, some ostentatiously 
equipped and decorated, others entirely naked, but fantastically 
painted, and all variously armed. 

The pipe of peace was now brought forward with due cere- 
mony. The bowl was of a species of red stone resembling 
porphyry ; the stem was six feet in length, decorated with tufts 
of horse-hair dyed red. The pipebearer stepped within the 
circle, lighted the pipe, held it towards the sun, then towards 
the different points of the compass, after which he handed it to 
the principal chief The latter smoked a few whiffs, then, 
holding the head of the pipe in his hand, offered the other end 
to Mr. Hunt, and to each one successively in the circle. When 
all had smoked, it was considered that an assurance of good 
faith and amity had been interchanged. Mr. Hunt now made a 



t8b ASTORIA. 

speech in French, which was interpreted as he proceeded by 
Pierre Dorion. He informed the Sioux of the real object of the 
expedition, of himself and his companions, which was, not to 
trade with any of the tribes up the river, but to cross the moun- 
tains to the great salt lake in the west, in search of some of 
their brothers, whom they had not seen for eleven months. 
That he had' heard of the intention of the Sioux to oppose his 
passage, and was prepared, as they might see, to effect it at 
all hazards ; nevertheless, his feelings towards the Sioux were 
friendly, in proof of which he had brought them a present of 
tobacco and corn. So saying, he ordered about fifteen carottes 
of tobacco, and as many bags of corn, to be brought from the 
boat and laid in a heap near the council fire. 

The sight of these presents mollified the chieftain, who had, 
doubtless, been previously rendered considerate by the resolute 
conduct of the white men, the judicious disposition of their little 
armament, the completeness of their equipments, and the compact 
array of battle which they presented. He made a speech in re- 
ply, in which he stated the object of their hostile assemblage, 
which had been merely to prevent supplies of arms and ammuni- 
tion from going to the Arickaras, Mandans, and Minatarees, with 
whom they were at war ; but being now convinced that the party 
were carrying no supplies of the kind, but merely proceeding in 
quest of their brothers beyond the mountains, they would not 
impede them in their voyage. He concluded by thanking them 
for their present, ind advising them to encamp on the opposite 
side of the river, as he had some young men among his warriors 
for whose discretion he could not be answerable, and who might 
be troublesome. 

Here ended the conference : they all arose, shook hands, and 
parted. Mr. Hunt and his companions re-embarked, and the 
boats proceeded on their course unmolested. 



A MEETING OF OLD OPPONENTS. 187 



CHAPTER XIX. 

On the afternoon of the following clay (June 1st) they arrived at 
the great bend, where the river winds for about thirty miles 
round a circular peninsula, the neck of which is not above two 
thousand yards across. On the succeeding morning, at an early 
hour, they descried two Indians standing on a high bank of the 
river, waving and spreading their buifalo robes in signs of amity. 
They immediately pulled to shore and landed. On approaching 
the savages, however, the latter showed evident symptoms of 
alarm, spreading out their arms horizontally, according to their 
mode of supplicating clemency. The reason was soon explained. 
They proved to be two chiefs of the very war party that had 
brought Messrs. Crooks and M'Lellan to a stand two years be- 
fore, and obliged them to escape down the river. They ran to 
embrace these gentlemen, as if delighted to meet with them ; yet 
they evidently feared some retaliation of their past misconduct, 
nor were they quite at ease until the pipe of peace had been 
smoked. 

Mr. Hunt having been informed that the tribe to which these 
men belonged, had killed three white men during the preceding 
summer, reproached them with the crime, and demanded their 
reasons for such savage hostility. " "VVe kill white men," replied 
one of the chiefs, " because white men kill us. That very man," 
added he, pointing to Carson, one \£ the new recruits, " killed 
one of our brothers last sumraer. The three white men were 
slain to avenge his death." 



188 ASTORIA. 

The chief was coriect in his reply. Carson admitted that, 
being with a party of Arickaras on the banks of the Missouri, 
and seeing a war party of Sioux on the opposite side, he had 
fired with his rifle across. It was a random shot, made without 
much expectation of effect, for the river was full half a mile in 
breadth. Unluckily it brought down a Sioux warrior for whose 
wanton destruction threefold vengeance had been taken, as has 
been stated. In this way outrages are frequently committed on 
the natives by thoughtless or mischievous white men ; the In- 
dians retaliate according to a law of their code, which requires 
blood for blood ; their act, of what with them is pious vengeance, 
resounds throughout the land, and is represented as wanton and 
unprovoked ; the neighborhood is roused to arms ; a war ensues, 
which ends in the destruction of half the tribe, the ruin of the 
rest, and their expulsion from their hereditary homes. Such is 
too often the real history of Indian warfare, which in general is 
traced up only to some vindictive act of a savage ; while the 
outrage of the scoundrel white man that provoked it is sunk in 
silence. 

The two chiefs, having smoked their pipe of peace and re- 
ceived a few presents, departed well satisfied. In a little while 
two others appeared on horseback, and rode up abreast of the 
boats. They had seen the presents given to their comrades, but 
were dissatisfied with them, and came after the boats to ask for 
more. Being somewhat peremptory and insolent in their de- 
mands, Mr. Hunt gave them a flat refusal, and threatened, il 
they or any of their tribe followed him with similar demands, to 
treat them as enemies. They turned and rode ofi" in a furious 
passion. As he was ignorant what force these chiefs might have 
behind the hills, and as it was very possible they might take ad- 
vantage of some pass of the river to attack the boats, Mr. Hunt 
called all stragglers on board and prepared for such emergency 



DANGERS AND PRECAUTIONS. 189 



It was agreed that the large boat commanded by Mr. Hunt, 
should ascend along the northeast side of the river, and the three 
smaller boats along the south side. By this arrangement each 
party would command a view of the opposite heights above the 
heads and out of the sight of their companions, and could give 
the alarm should they perceive any Indians lurking there. The 
signal of alarm was to be two shots fired in quick succession. 

The boats proceeded for the greater part of the day without 
seeing any signs of an enemy. About four o'clock in the after- 
noon the large boat, commanded by Mr. Hunt, came to where 
the river was divided by a long sand-bar, which apparently, how- 
ever, left a sufficient channel between it and the shore along 
which they were advancing. He kept up this channel, therefore, 
for some distance, until the water proved too shallow for the 
boat. It was necessary, therefore, to put about, return down the 
channel, and pull round the lower end of the sand-bar into the 
main stream. Just as he had given orders to this effect to his 
men, two signal guns were fired from the boats on the opposite 
side of the rivei*. At the same moment a file of savage warriors 
was observed pouring down from the impending bank, and gather- 
ing on the shore at the lower end of the bar. They were evi- 
dently a war party, being armed with bows and arrows, battle 
clubs and carbines, and round bucklers of buffalo hide^ and their 
naked bodies were pain ted with black and white stripes. The 
natural inference was, that they belonged to the two tribes of 
Sioux which had been expected by the great war party, and that 
they had been incited to hostility by the two chiefs who had been 
enraged by the refusal and the menace of Mr. Hunt. Here then 
was a fearful predicament. Mr. Hunt and his crew seemed 
caught, as it were, in a trap. The Indians, to the number of 
about a hundred, had already taken possession of a point near 
which the boat would have to pass : others kept pouring down 



190 ASTORIA, 

the bank, and it was probable that some would remain posted on 
the top of the height. 

The hazardous situation of Mr. Hunt was perceived by those 
in the other boats, and they hastened to his assistance. They 
were at some distance above the sand-bar, however, and on the 
opposite side of the river, and saw, with intense anxiety, the 
number of savages continually augmenting, at the lower end of 
the channel, so that the boat would be exposed to a fearful attack 
before they could render it any assistance. Their anxiety in- 
creased, as they saw Mr. Hunt and his party descending the 
channel and dauntlessly approaching the point of danger ; but it 
suddenly changed into surprise on beholding the boat pass close 
by the savage horde unmolested, and steer out safely into the 
broad river. 

The next moment the whole band of warriors was in motion. 
They ran along the bank until they were opposite to the boats, 
then throwing by their weapons and buffalo robes, plunged into 
the river, waded and swam off to the boats and surrounded them 
in crowds, seeking to shake hands with every individual on 
board ; for the Indians have long since found this to be th'' white 
man's token of amity, and they carry it to an extreme. 

All uneasiness was now at an end. The Indians proved to 
be a war party of Arickaras, Mandans and Minnetarees, consist- 
ing of three hundred warriors, and bound on a foray against the 
Sioux. Their war plans were abandoned for the present, and 
they determined to return to the Arickara town, where they 
hoped to obtain from the white men arms and ammunition that 
would enable them to take the field with advantage over their 
enemies. 

The boats now sought the first convenient place for encamp- 
ing. The tents were pitched ; the warriors fixed their camp at 
about a hundred yards distant ; provisions were furnished from 



APPROACH OF LISA. 191 



the boats sufficient for all parties ; there was hearty though rude 
feasting in both camps, and in the evening the red warriors en- 
tertained their white friends with dances and songs, that lasted 
until after midnight. 

On the following morning (July 3) the travellers re-embarked, 
and took a temporary leave of their Indian friends, who intended 
to proceed immediately for the Arickara town, where they ex 
pected to arrive in three days, long before the boats could reach 
there. Mr. Hunt had not proceeded far before the chief came 
galloping along the shore and made signs for a parley. He said, 
his people could not go home satisfied unless they had something 
to take with them to prove that they had met with the white men. 
Mr. Hunt understood the drift of the speech, and made the chief 
a present of a cask of powder, a bag of balls, and three dozen of 
knives, with which he was highly pleased. While the chief was 
receiving these presents an Indian came running along the shore, 
and announced that a boat, filled with white men, was coming up 
the river. This was by no means agreeable tidings to Mr. Hunt, 
who correctly concluded it to be the boat of Mr. Manuel Lisa ; 
and he was vexed to find that alert and adventurous trader upon 
his heels, whom he had hoped to have out-manoeuvred, and left 
far behind. Lisa, however, was too much experienced in the 
wiles of Indian trade to be lulled by the promise of waiting for 
him at the Poncas village ; on the contrary, he had allowed him- 
self no repose, and had strained every nerve to overtake the rival 
party, and availing himself of the moonlight, had even sailed 
during a considerable part of the night. In this he was partly 
prompted by his apprehensions of the Sioux, having met a boat 
which had probably passed Mr. Hunt's party in the night, and 
which had been fired into by these savages. 

On hearing that Lisa was so near at hand, Mr. Hunt per- 
ceived that it was useless to attempt any longer to evade him ; 



192 ASTORIA. 



after proceeding a few miles further, therefore, he came to a halt 
and waited for him to come up. In a little while the barge of 
Lisa made its appearance. It came sweeping gently up the river, 
manned by its twenty stout oarsmen, and armed by a swivel 
mounted at the bow. The whole number on board amounted to 
twenty-six men ; among whom was Mr. Henry Breckenridge, then 
a young, enterprising man ; who was a mere passenger, tempted 
by notions of curiosity to accompany Mr. Lisa. He has since 
made himself known by various writing, among which may be 
noted a narrative of this very voyage. 

The approach of Lisa, while it was regarded with uneasiness 
by Mr. Hunt, roused the ire of M'Lellan ; who calling to mind 
old grievances, began to look round for his rifle, as if he really 
intended to carry his threat into execution and shoot him on the 
spot ; and it was with some difficulty that Mr. Hunt was enabled 
to restrain his ire, and prevent a scene of outrage and confusion. 

The meeting between the two leaders, thus mutually distrust- 
ful, could not be very cordial ; and as to Messrs. Crooks and 
M'Lellan, though they refrained from any outbreak, yet they 
regarded in grim defiance their old rival and underplotter. In 
truth, a general distrust prevailed throughout the party concern- 
ing Lisa and his intentions. They considered him artful and 
slippery, and secretly anxious for the failure of their expedition. 
There being now nothing more to be apprehended from the Sioux, 
they suspected that Lisa would take advantage of his twent}'- 
oared barge to leave them and get first among the Arickaras. As 
he had traded with those people and possessed great influence 
over them, it was feared he might make use of it to impede the 
business of Mr. Hunt and his party. It was resolved, therefore, 
to keep a sharp look-out upon his movements ; and M'Lellan 
swore that if he saw the least sign of treachery on his part, he 
would instantly put his old threat into execution. 



THE RAGE OF PIERRE DORION. 193 



Notwithstanding these secret jealousies and heart-burnings, 
the two jjarties maintained an outward appearance of civility, and 
for two days continued forward in company with some degree of 
harmony. On the third day, however, an explosion took place, 
and it was produced by no less a personage than Pierre Doriou, 
the half- breed interpreter. It will be recollected that this worthy 
had been obliged to steal a march from St. Louis, to avoid being 
arrested for an old whisky debt which he owed to the Missouri 
Fur Company, and by which Mr. Lisa had hoped to prevent his 
enlisting in Mr. Hunt's expedition. Dorion, since the arrival of 
Lisa, had kept aloof and regarded him with a sullen and dogged 
aspect. On the fifth of July the two parties were brought to a 
halt by a heavy rain, and remained encamped about a hundred 
yards apart. In the course of the day Lisa undertook to tamper 
with the faith of Pierre Dorion, and, inviting him on board of his 
boat, regaled him with his favorite whisky. When he thought 
him sufficiently mellowed, he proposed to him to quit the service 
of his new employers and return to his old allegiance. Finding 
him not to be moved by soft words, he called to mind his old 
debt to the company, and threatened to carry him off by force, in 
payment of it. The mention of this debt always stirred up the 
gall of Pierre Dorion, bringing with it the remembrance of the 
whisky extortion. A violent quarrel arose between him and 
Lisa, and he left the boat in high dudgeon. His first step wavS 
to repair to the tent of Mr. Hunt and reveal the attempt that 
had been made to shake his faith. While he was yet talking 
Lisa entered the tent, under the pretext of coming to borrow a 
towing line. High words instantly ensued between him and 
Dorion, which ended by the half-breed's dealing him a blow. A 
quarrel in the " Indian counti-y," however, is not to be settled 
with fisticuffs. Lisa immediately rushed to his boat for a weapon. 
Dorion snatched up a pair of pistols belonging to Mr. Hunt, and 

9 



194 ASTORIA. 



placed himself in battle array. The noise had roused the camp, 
and every one pressed to know the cause. Lisa now reappeared 
upon the field with a knife stuck in his girdle. Mr. Breckenridge, 
who had tried in vain to mollify his ire, accompanied him to the 
scene of action. Pierre Dorion's pistols gave him the advantage, 
and he maintained a most warlike attitude. In the meantime. 
Crooks and M'Lellan had learnt the cause of the affray, and were 
each eager to take the quarrel into their own hands. A scene of 
uproar and hubbub ensued that defies description. M'Lellan 
would have brought his rifle into play and settled all old and new 
grudges by a pull of the trigger, had he not been restrained by 
Mr. Hunt. That gentleman acted as moderator, endeavoring to 
prevent a general melee ; in the midst of the brawl, however, an 
expression was made use of by Lisa derogatory to his own honor. 
In an instant, the tranquil spirit of Mr. Hunt was in a flame. 
He now became as eager for fight as any one on the ground, and 
challenged Lisa to settle the dispute on the spot with pistols. 
Lisa repaired to his boat to arm himself for the deadly feud. 
He was followed by Messrs. Bradbury and Breckenridge, who, 
novices in Indian life and the "chivalry" of the frontier, had no 
relish for scenes of blood and brawl. By their earnest mediation 
the quarrel was with great difiiculty brought to a close without 
bloodshed ; but the two leaders of the rival camps separated in 
anger, and all personal intercourse ceased between them. 



FEATURES OF THE WILDERNESS. 195 



CHAPTER XX. 

The rival parties now coasted along the opposite sides of tlie 
river, within sight of each other ; the barges of Mr. Hunt always 
keeping some distance in the advance, lest Lisa should push on 
and get first to the Arickara village. The scenery and objects, as 
they proceeded, gave evidence that they were advancing deeper 
and deeper into the domains of savage nature. Boundless wastes 
kept extending to the eye, more and more animated by herds of 
buifalo. Sometimes these unwieldy animals were seen moving in 
long procession across the silent landscape ; at other times they 
were scattered about, singly or in groups, on the broad-enamelled 
prairies and green acclivities, some cropping the rich pasturage, 
others reclining amidst the flowery herbage ; the whole scene 
realizing in a manner the old Scriptural descriptions of the vast 
pastoral countries of the Orient, with " cattle upon a thousand 
hills." 

At one place the shores seemed absolutely lined with buffa- 
loes ; many were making their way across the stream, snorting, 
and blowing, and floundering. Numbers, in spite of every effort, 
were borne by the rapid current "S|jthin shot of the boats, and 
several were killed. At another place a number were descried on 
the beach of a small island, under the shade of the trees, or 
standing in the water, like cattle, to avoid the flies and the heat 
of the day. 

Several of the best marksmen stationed themselves in the bow 
of a barge which advanced slowly and silently, stemming the cur- 



195 ASTORIA. 

rent with the aid of a broad sxil and a fair breeze. The bufifalo 
stood gazing quietly at the barge as it approached, perfectly uncou 
scious of their danger. The fattest of the herd was selected by the 
hunters, who all fired together and brought down their victim. 

Beside the buffaloes they saw abundance of deer, and frecjuent 
gangs of stately elks, together with light troops of sprightly an- 
telopes, the fleetest and most beautiful inhabitants of the prairies. 

There are two kinds of antelopes in these regions, one nearly 
the size of the common deer, the other not much larger than a 
goat. Their color is a light gray, or rather dun, slightly spotted 
with white ; and they have small horns like those of the deer, 
which they never shed. Nothing can surpass the delicate and 
elegant finish of their limbs, in which lightness, elasticity, and 
strength, are wonderfully combined. All the attitudes and move- 
ments of this beautiful animal are graceful and picturesque ; and 
it is altogether as fit a subject for the fanciful uses of the poet, 
as the oft-sung gazelle of the East. 

Their habits are shy and capricious ; they keep on the open 
plains, are quick to take the alarm, and bound away with a fleet- 
ness that defies pursuit. When thus skimming across a prairie 
in the autumn, their light gray or dun color blends with the hue 
of the withered herbage, the swiftness of their motion bafiies the 
eye, and they almost seem unsubstantial forms, driven like gos- 
samer before the wind. 

While they thus keep to the open plain and trust to their 
speed, they are safe ; but they have a prurient curiosity that 
sometimes betrays them to their ruin. When they have scud 
for some distance and left their pursuer behind, they will sud- 
denly stop and turn to gaze at the object of their alarm. If the 
pursuit is not followed up they willj after a time, yield to their 
inquisitive hankering, and return to the place from whence they 
have been frightened. 



AN EMBASSY— NEGOTIATIONS. 191 



John Day, the veteran hunter already mentioned, displayed 
his experience and skill in entrapping one of these beautiful 
animals. Taking advantage of its well known curiosity, he laid 
down flat among the grass, and putting his handkerchief on the 
end of his ramrod, waved it gently in the air. This had the 
effect of the fabled fascination of the rattlesnake. The antelope 
gazed at the mysterious object for some time at a distance, then 
approached timidly, pausing and reconnoitring with increased 
curiosity ; moving round the point of attraction in a circle, but 
still drawing nearer and nearer, until being within the range of 
the deadly rifle, he fell a victim to his curiosity. 

On the 10th of June, as the party were making brisk pro- 
gress with a fine breeze, they met a canoe with three Indians 
descending the river. They came to a parley, and brought news 
from the Arickara village. The war party, which had caused 
such alarm at the sand-bar, had reached the village some days 
previously, announced the approach of a party of traders, and 
displayed with great ostentation the presents they had received 
from them. On further conversation with these three Indians, 
Mr. Hunt learnt the real danger which he had run, when hem- 
med up within the sand-bar. The Mandans who were of the war 
party, when they saw the boats so completely entrapped and 
apparently within their power, had been eager for attiicking it, 
and securing so rich a prize. The Minatarees, also, were nothing 
loth, feeling in some measure committed in hostility to the 
whites, in consequence of their tribe having killed two white men 
above the fort of the Missouri Fur Company. Fortunately, tlio 
Arickaras, who formed the majority of the war party, proved 
true in their friendship to the whites, and prevented any hostile 
act, otherwise a bloody affray, and perhaps a horrible massacre, 
might have ensued. 

On the 1 1th of June, Mr. Hunt and his companions en 



198 ASTORIA. 

camped near an island about six miles below the xYrickara village, 
Mr. Lisa encamped, as usual, at no great distance ; but the same 
Bullen and jealous reserve, and non-intercourse continued be- 
tween them. Shortly after pitching the tents, Mr. Breckenridge 
made his appearance as an ambassador from the rival camp. He 
came on behalf of his companions, to arrange the manner of 
making their entrance into the village and of receiving the 
chiefs ; for every thing of the kind is a matter of grave ceremo- 
nial among the Indians. 

The partners now expressed frankly their deep distrust of 
the intentions of Mr. Lisa, and their apprehensions, that, out of 
the jealousy of trade, and resentment of recent disputes, he 
might seek to instigate the Arickaras against them. Mr. Breck- 
enridge assured them that their suspicions were entirely ground- 
less, and pledged himself that nothing of the kind should take 
place. He found it difficult, however, to remove their distrust ; 
the conference, therefore, ended without producing any cordial 
understanding ; and M'Lellan recurred to his old threat of 
shooting Lisa the instant he discovered any thing like treachery 
in his proceedings. 

That night the rain fell in torrents, accompanied by thunder 
and lightning. The camp was deluged, and the bedding and 
baggage drenched. All hands embarked at an early hour, and 
set forward for the village. About nine o'clock, when half way, 
they met a canoe, on board of which were two Arickara digni- 
taries. One, a fine-looking man, much above the common size, 
was hereditary chief of the village ; he was called the Left-handed, 
on account of a personal peculiarity. The other, a ferocious- 
looking savage, was the war chief, or generalissimo ; he was 
known by the name of the Big Man, an appellation he well 
deserved from his size, for he was of a gigantic frame. Both 
were of fairer complexion than is iisual with savages. 



TWO CHIEFS AND A CREOLE INTERPRETER. 199 



They were "ccompaniad by an iuterpretci- ; a French Creole ; 
one of those haphazard wights of Gallic origin, who abound upon 
our frontier, living among the Indians like one of their own race. 
He had been twenty years among the Arickaras, had a squaw 
and a troop of piebald children, and officiated as interpreter to 
the chiefs. Through this worthy organ the two dignitaries signi- 
fied to Mr. Hunt their sovereign intention to oppose the further 
progress of the expedition up the river unless a boat were left to 
trade with them. Mr. Hunt, in reply, explained the object of his 
voyage, and his intention of debarking at their village and |)ro- 
ceeding thence by land ; and that he would willingly trade with 
them for a supply of horses for his journey. With this explana- 
tion they were perfectly satisfied, and putting about, steered for 
their village to make preparations for the reception of the 
strangers. 

The village of the E,ikaras, Arickaras, or Ricarees, for the 
name is thus variously written, is between the 46th and 47th 
parallels of north latitude, and fourteen hundred and thirty miles 
above the mouth of the Missouri. The party reached it about 
ten o'clock in the morning, but landed on the opposite side of the 
river, where they spread out their baggage and eftects to dry, 
From hence they commanded an excellent view of the village. 
It was divided into two portions, about eighty yards apart, being 
inhabited by two distinct bands. The whole extended about 
three-quarters of a mile along the river bank, and was composed 
of conical lodges, that looked like so many small hillocks, being 
wooden frames intertwined with osier, and covered with earth. 
The plain beyond the village swept up into hills of considerable 
height, but the whole country was nearly destitute of trees. 
While they were regarding the village, they beheld a singular 
fleet coming down the river. It consisted of a number of canoes, 
each made of a single buffalo hide stretched on sticks, so as to 



200 ASTORIA. 

form a kind of circular trough. Each one was navigated by a 
single squaw, who knelt in the bottom and paddled ; towing after 
her frail bark a bundle of floating wood intended for firing. This 
kind of canoe is in frequent use among the Indians ; the buf- 
falo hide being readily made up into a bundle and transported 
on horseback ; it is very serviceable in conveying baggage across 
the rivers. 

The great number of horses grazing around the village, and 
scattered j9ver the neighboring hills and valleys, bespoke the 
equestrian habits of the Arickaras, who are admirable horsemen. 
Indeed, in the number of his horses consists the wealth of an 
Indian of the prairies ; who resembles an Arab in his passion for 
this noble animal, and in his adroitness in the management of it. 

After a time, the voice of the sovereign chief, " the Left- 
handed," was heard across the river, announcing that the council 
lodge was preparing, and inviting the white men to come over. 
The river was half a mile in width, yet every word uttered by 
the chieftain was heard ; this may be partly attributed to the 
distinct manner in which every syllable of the compound words 
in the Indian languages is articulated and accented ; but in 
truth, a savage warrior might often rival Achilles himself for 
force of lungs.* 

Now came the delicate point of management ; how the two 
rival parties were to conduct their visit to the village with proper 
circumspection and due decorum. Neither of the leaders had 
spoken to each other since their quarrel. All communication had 
been by ambassadors. Seeing the jealousy entertained of Lisa, 
Mr. Breckenridge, in his negotiation, had arranged that a depu- 
tation from each party should cross the river at the same time, 
so that neither would have the first access to the ear of the 
Arickaras. 

* Bradbury, p. 110. 



LANDING AT THE VILLAGE. 201 



The distrust of Lisa, however, had increased in proportion aa 
they approached the sphere of action, and M'Lellan in particular, 
kept a vigilant eye upon his motions, swearing to shoot him if he 
attempted to cross the river first. 

About two o'clock the large boat of Mr. Hunt was manned, 
and he stepped on board, accompanied by Messrs. M'Kenzie and 
M'Lellan ; Lisa at the same time embarked in his barge ; the 
two deputations amounted in all to fourteen persons, and never 
was any movement of rival potentates conducted with more wary 
exactness. 

They landed amidst a rabble crowd, and were received on the 
bank by the left-handed chief, who conducted them into the vil- 
lage with grave courtesy ; driving to the right and left the swarms 
of old squaws, imp-like boys, and vagabond dogs, with which the 
place abounded. They wound their way between the cabins, 
which looked like dirt-heaps huddled together without any plan, 
and surrounded by old palisades ; all filthy in the extreme, and 
redolent of villanous smells. 

At length they arrived at the council lodge. It was some- 
what spacious, and formed of four forked trunks of trees placed 
upright, supporting cross-beams and a frame of poles interwoven 
with osiers, and the whole covered with earth. A hole sunken 
in the centre formed the fireplace, and immediately above was a 
circular hole in the apex of the lodge, to let out the smoke and 
let in the daylight. Around the lodge were recesses for sleeping, 
like the berths on board ships, screened from view by curtains of 
dressed skins. At the upper end of the lodge was a kind of 
hunting and warlike trophy, consisting of two bufialo heads gair- 
ishly painted, surmounted by shields, bows, quivers of arrows, 
and other weapons. 

On entering the lodge the chief pointed to mats or cushions 

which liad been placed around for tlie stranirers. and on which 

9* 



802 ASTORIA. 

tliey seated themselves, while he placed himself on a kind of 
Btool. An old man then came forward with the pipe of peace or 
good-fellowship, lighted and handed it to the chief, and then fall- 
ing back, squatted himself near the door. The pipe was passed 
from mouth to mouth, each one taking a whiff, which is equivalent 
to the inviolable pledge of faith, of taking salt together among 
the ancient Britons. The chief then made a sign to the old pipe- 
bearer, who seemed to fill, likewise, the station of herald, senes- 
chal, and public crier, for he ascended to the top of the lodge to 
make proclamation. Here he took his post beside the aperture 
for the emission of smoke, and the admission of light ; the chief 
dictated from within what he was to proclaim, and he bawled it 
forth with a force of lungs that resounded over all the village. 
In this way he summoned the warriors and great men to coun- 
cil ; every now and then reporting progress to his chief through 
the hole in the roof. 

In a little while the braves and sages began to enter one by 
one as their names were called or announced, emerging from un- 
der the buffalo robe suspended over the entrance instead of a 
door, stalking across the lodge to the skins placed on the floor, 
and crouching down on them in silence. In this way twenty en- 
tered and took their seats, forming an assemblage worthy of the 
pencil ; for the Arickaras are a noble race of men, large and 
well formed, and maintain a savage grandeur and gravity of de- 
meanor in their solemn ceremonials. 

All being seated, the old seneschal prepared the pipe of cere- 
mony or council, and having lit it, handed it to the chief. He 
inhaled the sacred smoke, gave a puff upward to the heaven, then 
downward to the earth, then towards the east ; after this it was 
as usual passed from mouth to mouth, each holding it respect- 
fully until his neighbor had taken several whiffs ; and now the 
grand council was considered as opened in due form. 



THE SPEECH OF LISA. 203 



The chief made an harangue -welcoming the white men to his 
village, and expressing his happiness in taking them by the hand 
as friends ; but at the same time complaining of the poverty of 
himself and his people ; the usual prelude among Indians to beg- 
ging or hard bargaining. 

Lisa rose to reply, and the eyes of Hunt and his companions 
were eagerly turned upon him, those of M'Lellan glaring like a 
basilisk's. He began by the usual expressions of friendship, and 
then jDroeeeded to explain the object of his own party. Those 
persons, however, said he, pointing to Mr. Hunt and his com- 
panions, are of a different party, and are quite distinct in their 
views ; but, added he, though we are separate parties, we make 
but one common cause when the safety of either is concerned. 
Any injury or insult offered to them I shall consider as done 
to myself, and will resent it accordingly. I trust, therefore, that 
you will treat them with the same friendship that you have 
always manifested for me, doing every thing in your power to 
serve them and to help them on their way. The speech of Lisa, 
delivered with an air of frankness and sincerity, agreeably sur- 
prised and disappointed the rival party. 

Mr. Hunt then spoke, declaring the object of his journey to 
the great Salt Lake beyond the mountains, and that he should 
want horses for the purpose, for which he was ready to trade, 
having brought with him plenty of goods. Both he and Lisa 
concluded their speeches by making presents of tobacco. 

The left-handed chieftain in reply promised his friendship 
and aid to the new comers, and welcomed them to his village. 
He added that they had not the number of horses to spare 
that Mr. Hunt required, and expressed a doubt whether they 
should be able to part with any. Upon this, another chieftain, 
called Gray Eyes, made a speech, and declared that they could 
readily supply Mr. Hunt with all the horses he might want, 



204 ASTORIA, 

since, if tliey Lad not enougli in the village, they could easily 
steal more. This honest expedient immediately removed the 
main difficulty ; but the chief deferred all trading for a day or 
two, until he should have time to consult with his subordinate 
chiefs, as to market rates ; for the principal chief of a village, in 
conjunction with his council, usually fixes the prices at which 
articles shall be bought and sold, and to them the village must 
conform. 

The council now broke up. Mr. Hunt transferred his camp 
across the river at a little distance below the village, and the 
left-handed chief placed some of his warriors as a guard to pre- 
vent the intrusion of any of his people. The camp was pitched 
on the river bank just above the boats. The tents, and the men 
wrapped in their blankets and bivouacking on skins in the open 
air, surrounded the baggage at night. Four sentinels also kept 
watch within sight of each other outside of the camp until mid- 
night, when they were relieved by four others who mounted guard 
until daylight. Mr. Lisa encamped near to Mr. Hunt, between 
him and the village. 

The speech of Mr. Lisa in the council had produced a pacific 
effect in the encampment. Though the sincerity of his friend- 
ship and good-will towards the new company still remained mat- 
ter of doubt, he was no longer suspected of an intention to play 
false. The intercourse between the two leaders was, therefore, 
resumed, and the afiairs of b^th parties went on harmoniously. 



AN INDIAN HORSE FAIR. 205 



CHAPTER XXI. 

A TRADE now commenced with the Arickaras under the regula- 
tion and supervision of their two chieftains. Lisa sent a part of 
his goods to the lodge of the left-handed dignitary, and Mr. Hunt 
established his mart in the lodge of the Big Man. The village 
soon presented the appearance of a busy fair ; and as horses were 
in demand, the purlieus and the adjacent plain were like the 
vicinity of a Tartar encampment ; horses were put through all 
their paces, and horsemen were careering about with that dexte- 
rity and grace for which the Arickaras are noted. As soon as a 
horse was purchased, his tail was cropped, a sure mode of distin- 
guishing him from the horses of the tribe ; for the Indians disdain 
to practise this absurd, barbarous, and indecent mutilation, in- 
vented by some mean and vulgar mind, insensible to the merit 
and perfections of the animal. On the contrary, the Indian 
horses are suffered to remain in every respect the superb and 
beautiful animals which nature formed them. 

The wealth of an Indian of the far west consists principally 
in his horses, of which each chief and warrior possesses a great 
number, so that the plains about an Indian village or encamp- 
ment are covered with them. These form objects of trafl&c, oi 
objects of depredation, and in this way pass from tribe to tribe 
over great tracts of country. The horses owned by the Aricka- 
ras are, for the most part, of the wild stock of the prairies ; 
some, however, had been obtained from the Poncas, Pawnees, and 
othei tribes to tlie southwest, who had stolen them from the 



aOfi ASTORIA. 

Spaniards in the course of horse-stealing expeditious into the 
Mexican territories. These were to be known by being branded ; 
a Spanish mode of marking horses not practised by the Indians. 

As the Arickaras were meditating another expedition against 
their enemies the Sioux, the articles of traffic most in demand 
were guns, tomahawks, scalping-knives, powder, ball, and other 
munitions of war. The price of. a horse, as regulated by the 
chiefs, was commonly ten dollars worth of goods at first cost. 
To supply the demand thus suddenly created, parties of young 
men and braves had sallied forth on expeditions to steal horses ; 
a species of service among the Indians which takes precedence of 
hunting, and is considered a department of. honorable warfare. 

While the leaders of the expedition were actively engaged in 
preparing for the approaching journey, those who had accompa- 
nied it for curiosity or amusement, found ample matter for obser- 
vation in the village and its inhabitants. Wherever they went 
they were kindly entertained. If they entered a lodge, the buf- 
falo robe was spread before the fire for them to sit down ; the 
pi2)c was brought, and while the master of the lodge conversed 
with his guests, the squaw put the earthen vessel over the fire, 
well filled with dried buffalo meat and pounded corn ; for the In- 
dian in his native state, before he has mingled much with white 
men, and acquired their sordid habits, has the hospitality of the 
Arab : never does a stranger enter his door without having food 
placed before him ; and never is the food thus furnished made a 
matter of traific. 

The life of an Indian when at home in his village is a life of 
indolence and amusement. To the woman is consigned the labors 
of the household and the field ; she arranges the lodge ; brings 
wood for the fire ; cooks ; jerks venison and buffalo meat : dresses 
the skins of the animals killed in the chase ; cultivates the little 
patch of maize, pumpkins, and pulse, which furnishes a great part 



DOMESTIC LIFE OF AN INDIAN. 207 



of tlieir provisions. Their time for repose aud recreation is at 
sunset, when the labors of the day being ended, they gather toge- 
ther to amuse themselves with petty games, or to hold gossiping 
convocations on the tops of their lodges. 

As to the Indian, he is a game animal, not to be degraded by 
useful or menial toil. It is enough that he exposes himself to 
the hardships of the chase and the perils of war ; that he brings 
home food for his family, and watches and fights for its protec- 
tion. Every thing else is beneath his attention. When at home, 
he attends only to his weapons aud his horses, preparing the 
means of future exploit. Or he engages with his comrades in 
games of dexterity, agility and strength ; or in gambling games 
in which every thing is put at hazard, with a recklessness seldom 
witnessed in civilized life. 

A great part of the idle leisure of the Indians when at home, 
is passed in groups, squatted together on the bank of a river, on 
the top of a mound on the prairie, or on the roof of one of their 
earth-covered lodges, talking over the news of the day, the affiiirs 
of the tribe, the events and exploits of their last hunting or fight- 
ing expedition ; or listening to the stories of old times told by 
some veteran chronicler ; resembling a group of our village t|uid- 
nuncs and politicians, listening to the prosings of some superan- 
nuated oracle, or discussing the contents of an ancient newspaper. 

As to the Indian women, they are far from complaining of 
their lot. On the contrary, they would despise their husbands 
could' they stoop to any menial office, and would think it cou' 
veyed an imputation upon their own conduct. It is the worst 
insult one virago can cast upon another in a moment of alterca- 
tion. " Infamous woman !" will she cry, " I have seen your 
husband carrying wood into his lodge to make the fire. Where 
was his squarw, that he should be obliged to make a woman of 
himself !" 



SOS ASTORIA. 

Mr. Hunt and his fellow travellers Lad not been many days 
at the Arickara village, when rumors began to circulate that the 
Sioux had followed them up, and that a war party, four or five 
hundred in number, were lurking somewhere in the neighbor- 
hood. These rumors produced much embarrassment in the 
camp. The white hunters were deterred from venturing forth 
in quest of game, neither did the leaders think it proper to 
expose them to such risk. The Arickaras, too, who had suffered 
greatly in their wars with this cruel and ferocious tribe, were 
roused to increased vigilance, and stationed mounted scouts 
upon the neighboring hills. This, however, is a general precau- 
tion among the tribes of the prairies. Those immense plains 
present a horizon like the ocean, so that any object of importance 
can be descried afar, and information communicated to a great 
distance. The scouts are stationed on the hills, therefore, to 
look out both for game and for enemies, and are, in a manner, 
living telegraphs conveying their intelligence by concerted signs. 
If they wish to give notice of a herd of buffalo in the plain beyond, 
they gallop backwards and forwards abreast, on the summit of 
the hill. If they perceive an enemy at hand, they gallop to and 
fro, crossing each other ; at sight of which the whole village flies 
to arms. 

Such an alarm was given in the afternoon of the 15th. Four 
scouts were seen crossing and recrossing each other at full 
gallop, on the summit of a hill about two miles distant down the 
river. The cry was up that the Sioux were coming. In an 
instant the village was in an uproar. Men, women and children 
were all brawling and shouting; dogs barking, yelping and 
howling. Some of the warriors ran for the horses to gather and 
drive them in from the prairie, some for their weapons. As fast 
as they could arm and equip they sallied forth ; some on horse 
back, some on foot. Some hastily arrayed in their war dress. 



AN ALARM.— JNDIAN DOGS. 209 



witli coronets of fluttering feathers, and their bodies smeared 
with paint ; others naked and only furnished with the weapons 
they had snatched up. The women and children gathered on 
the tops of the lodges and heightened the confusion of the scene 
by their vociferation. Old men who could no longer bear arms 
took similar stations, and harangued the warriors as they passed, 
exhorting them to valorous deeds. Some of the veterans took 
arms themselves, and sallied forth with tottering steps. In this 
way, the savage chivalry of the village to the number of five 
hundred, jsoured forth, helter-skelter, riding and running, with 
hideous yells and war-whoops, like so many bedlamites or 
demoniacs let loose. 

After a while the tide of war rolled back, but with far less 
uproar. Either it had been a false alarm, or the enemy had re- 
treated on finding themselves discovered, and quiet was restored 
to the village. The white hunters continuing to be fearful of 
ranging this dangerous neighborhood, fresh provisions began to 
be scarce in the camp. As a substitute, therefore, for venison 
and bulFalo meat, the travellers had to purchase a number of 
dogs to be shot and cooked for fhe supply of the camp. Fortu- 
nately, however chary the Indians might be of their horses, they 
were liberal of their dogs. In fact, these animals swarm about 
an Indian village as they do about a Turkish town. Not a 
family but has two or three dozen belonging to it, of all sizes' 
and colors ; some, of a superior breed, are used for hunting ; 
others, to draw the sledge, while others, of a mongrel breed, and 
idle vagabond nature, are fattened for food. They are supjiosed 
to be descended from the wolf, and retain something of his 
savage but cowardly temper, howling rather than barking ; 
showing their teeth and snarling on the slightest provocation, 
but sneaking away on the least attack. 

The excitement of the village continiied from day to day 



210 ASTORIA. 

On the day following tlie alarm just mentioned, several parties 
arrived from different directions, and were met and conducted by 
some of the braves to the council lodge, where they reported the 
events and success of their expeditions, whether of war or hunt- 
ing ; which news was afterwards promulgated throughout the vil- 
lage, by certain old men who acted as heralds or town criers. 
Among the parties which arrived was one that had been among 
the Snake nation stealing horses, and returned crowned with suc- 
cess. As they passed in triumph through the village they were 
cheered by the men, women, and children, collected as usual on 
the tops of the lodges, and were exhorted by the Nestors of the 
village to be generous in their dealings with the white men. 

The evening was spent in feasting and rejoicing among the 
relations of the successful warriors ; but sounds of grief and 
wailing were heard from the hills adjacent to the village : the 
lamentations of women who had lost some relative in the foray. 

An Indian village is subject to continual agitations and ex- 
citements. The next day arrived a deputation of braves from 
the Cheyenne or Shienne nation ; a broken tribe, cut up, like the 
Arickaras, by wars with the Sioux, and driven to take refuge 
among the Black Hills, near the sources of the Cheyenne River, 
from which they derive their name. One of these deputies was 
magnificently arrayed in a buffalo robe, on which various figures 
were fancifully embroidered with split quills dyed red and yel- 
low ; and the whole was fringed with the slender hoofs of young 
fawns, that rattled as he walked. 

The arrival of this deputatiqn was the signal for another of 
those ceremonials which occupy so much of Indian life ; for no 
being is more courtly and punctilious, and more observing of 
etiquette and formality than an American savage. 

The object of the deputation was to give notice of an intended 
visit of the Shienne (or Cheyenne) tribe to the Arickara village 



RETURN OF A WAR PARTY. 211 



in the course of fifteen days. To this visit Mr. Hunt looked 
forward, to procure additional horses for his journey ; all his bar- 
gaining being ineffectual in obtaining a sufficent supply from the 
Arickaras. Indeed nothing could prevail upon the latter to 
part with their prime horses, which had been trained to buffalo 
hunting. 

As Mr. Hunt would have to abandon his boats at this place, 
Mr. Lisa now offered to purchase them, and such of his mer- 
chandise as was superfluous, and to pay him in horses, to be ob- 
tained at a fort belonging to the Missouri Fur Company, situated 
at the Mandan villages, about a hundred and fifty miles further 
up the river. A bargain was promptly made, and Mr. Lisa and 
Mr. Crooks, with several companions, set out for the fort to pro- 
cure the horses. They returned, after upwards of a fortnight's 
absence, bringing with them the stipulated number of horses. 
Still the cavalry was not sufficiently numerous to convey the 
party and the baggage and merchandise, and a few days more 
were required to complete the arrangements for the journey. 

On the 9th of July, just before daybreak, a great noise and 
vociferation was heard in the village. This being the usual 
Indian hour of attack and surprise, and the Sioux being known 
to be in the neighborhood, the camp was instantly on the alert. 
As the day broke Indians were descried in considerable number 
on the bluffs, three or four miles down the river. The noise and 
agitation in the village continued. The tops of the lodges were 
crowded with the inhabitants, all earnestly looking towards the 
hills, and keeping up a vehement chattering. Presently an In- 
dian warrior galloped past the camp towards the village, and in 
a little while the legions began to pour forth. 

The truth of the matter was now ascertained. The Indians 
upon the distant hills were three hundred Arickara braves, re- 
turning from a foray. They had met the war party of Sioux 



212 ASTORIA. 

who had been so long hovering about the neighborhood, had 
fought them the day before, killed several, and defeated the rest 
with the loss of but two or three of their own men and about 
a dozen wounded ; and they were now halting at a distance until 
their comrades in the village should come forth to meet them, 
and swell the parade of their triumphal entry. The warrior who 
had galloped past the camp was the leader of the party hastening 
home to give tidings of his victory. 

Preparations were now made for this great martial ceremony. 
All the finery and equipments of the warriors were sent forth to 
them, that they might appear to the greatest advantage. Those, 
too, who had remained at home, tasked their wardrobes and toi- 
lets to do honor to the procession. 

The Arickaras generally go naked, but, like all savages, they 
have their gala dress, of which they are not a little vain. This 
usually consists of a gray surcoat and leggins of the dressed 
skin of the antelope, resembling chamois leather, and embroi- 
dered with porcupine quills brilliantly dyed. A buffalo robe is 
thrown over the right shoulder, and across the left is slung a 
quiver of arrows. They wear gay coronets of plumes, particu- 
larly those of the swan ; but the feathers of the black eagle are 
considered the most worthy, being a sacred bird among the 
Indian warriors. He who has killed an enemy in his own land, 
is entitled to drag at his heels a fox-skin attached to each mocca- 
son ; and he who has slain a grizzly bear, wears a necklace of his 
claws, the most glorious trophy that a hunter can exhibit. 

An Indian toilet is an operation of some toil and trouble : 
the warrior often has to paint himself from head to foot, and is 
extremely capricious and difficult to please, as to the hideous 
distribution of streaks and colors. A great part of the morning, 
therefore, passed away before there were any signs of the distant 
pageant. In the meantime a profound stillness reigned oyer the 



TRIUMPHANT PROCESSION. 213 



village. Most of tlie iuliabitauts had gone forth ; others remained 
in mute expectation. All sports and occupations were suspended, 
excepting that in the lodges the painstaking squaws were silently 
busied in preparing the repasts for the warriors. 

It was near noon that a mingled sound of voices and rude 
music, faintly heard from a distance, gave notice tuat the proces- 
sion was on the march. The old men and such of the squaws as 
could leave their employments hastened forth to meet it. In a 
little while it emerged from behind a hill, and had a wild and 
picturesque appearance as it came moving over the summit in 
measured step, and to the cadence of songs and savage instru- 
ments ; the warlike standards and trophies flaunting aloft, and the 
feathers, and paint, and silver ornaments of the warriors glaring 
and glittering in the sunshine. 

The pageant had really something chivalrous in its arrange- 
ment. The Arickaras are divided into several bauds, each bear- 
ing the name of some animal or bird, as the buffalo, the bear, the 
dog, the pheasant. The present party consisted of four of these 
bands, one of which was the dog, the most esteemed in war, 
being composed of young men under thirty, and noted for prow- 
ess. It is engaged on the most desperate occasions. The bands 
marched in separate bodies under their several leaders. The 
warriors on foot came first, in platoons of ten or twelve abreast ; 
then the horsemen. Each band bore as an ensign a spear or bow 
decorated with beads, porcupine quills, and painted feathers. 
Each bore its trophies of scalps, elevated on poles, their long 
black locks streaming in the wind. Each was accompanied by its 
rude music and minstrelsy. In this way the procession extended 
nearly a quarter of a mile. The warriors were variously armed, 
some few with guns, others with bows and arrows, and war clubs ; 
all had shields of buftalo hide, a kind of defence generally used 
by the Indians of the open prairies, who have not the covert of 



214 ASTORIA. 



trees and forests to protect them. Tliey were painted in the 
most savage style. Some had the stamp of a red hand acrosa 
their mouths, a sign that they had drunk the life-Wood of a foe ! 

As they drew near to the village the old men and the women 
began to meet them, and now a scene ensued that proved the 
fallacy of the old fable of Indian apathy and stoicism. Parents 
and children, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters met with 
the most rapturous expressions of joy ; while wailings and lamen- 
tations were heard from the relatives of the killed and wounded. 
The procession, however, continued on with slow and measured 
step, in cadence to the solemn chant, and the warriors main- 
tained their fixed and stern demeanor. 

Between two of the principal chiefs rode a young warrior who 
had distinguished himself in the battle. He was severely wound- 
ed, so as with difficulty to keep on his horse ; but h,e preserved a 
serene and steadfast countenance, as if perfectly unharmed. 
His mother had heard of his condition. She bro^e through the 
throng, and rushing vip, threw her arms around him and wept 
aloud. He kept up the spirit an^ demeanor of a, warrior to the 
last, but expired shortly after he had reached his home. 

The village was now a scene of the utmost festivity and 
triumph. The banners, and trophies, and scalps, and painted 
shields were elevated on poles near the lodges. There were war- 
feasts, and scalp-dances, with warlike songs and savage music ; 
all the inhabitants were arrayed in their festal dresses ; while 
the old heralds went round from lodge to lodge, promulgating 
with loud voices the events of the battle and the exploits of the 
various warriors. 

Such was the boisterous revelry of the village ; but sounds of 
another kind were heard on the surrounding hills ; piteous wail- 
ings of the women, who had retired thither to mourn in darkness 
and solitude for those who had fallen in battle. There the poor 



LAMENTATIONS AMONG THE HILLS. 215 



motter of the youthful warrior who had returned home in tri- 
umph but to die, gave full vent to the anguish of a mother's 
heart. How much does this custom among the Indian women of 
repairing to the hill tops in the night, and pouring forth their 
wailings for the dead, call to mind the beautiful and affecting 
passage of Scripture, " In Rama was there a voice heard, lamen- 
tation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for 
her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not." 



81G ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XXIL 

While Mr. Hunt was diligently preparing for liis arduous jour- 
ney, some of his men began to lose heart at the perilous prospect 
before them ; but, before we accuse them of want of spirit, it is 
proper to consider the nature of the wilderness into which they 
were about to adventure. It was a region almost as vast and 
trackless as the ocean, and, at the time of which we treat, but 
little known, excepting through the' vague accounts of Indian 
hunters. A part of their route would lay across an immense 
tract, stretching north and south for hundreds of miles along the 
foot of the Rocky Mountains, and drained by the tributary 
streams of the Missouri and the Mississippi. This region, which 
resembles one of the immeasurable steppes of Asia, has not 
inaptly been termed " the great American desert." It spreads 
forth into undulatinsf and treeless plains, and desolate sandy 
wa^.tes. wearisome to the eye from their extent and monotony, 
and which are supposed by geologists, to have formed the ancient 
floor of the ocean, countless ages since, when its primeval waves 
beat against the granite bases of the Rocky Mountains. 

It is a land where no man permanently abides ; for, in cer- 
tain seasons of the year there is no food either for the hunter or 
his steed. The herbage is parched and withered ; the brooks 
and streams are dried up ; the buffalo, the elk and the deer have 
wandgred to distant parts, keeping within the verge of expiring 
verdure, and leaving behind them a vast uninhabited solitude, 



WILDERNESS OF THE FAR WEST. 217 



Beamed by ravines, the beds of former torrents, but now serving 
only to tantalize and increase the thirst of the traveller. 

Occasionally the monotony of this vast wilderness is iuter- 
i-upted by mountainous belts of sand and limestone, broken into 
confused masses ; with precipitous cliffs and yawning ravines, 
looking like the ruins of a world ; or is traversed by lofty and 
barren ridges of rock, almost impassable, like those denominated 
the Black Hills. Beyond these rise the stern barriers of the 
Kocky Mountains, the limits, as it were, of the Atlantic world. 
The rugged defiles and deep valleys of this vast chain form shel- 
tering places for restless and ferocious bands of savages, many 
of them the remnants of tribes, once inhabitants of the prairies, 
but broken up by war and violence, and who carx'y into their 
mountain haunts the fierce passions and reckless habits of des- 
peradoes. 

Such is the nature of this immense wilderness of the far 
West ; which apparently defies cultivation, and the habitation of 
civilized life. Some portions of it along the rivers may partially 
be subdued by agriculture, others may form vast pastoral tracts, 
like those of the East ; but it is to be feared that a great part of 
it will form a lawless interval between the abodes of civilized 
man, like the wastes of the ocean or the deserts of Arabia ; and^ 
like them, be subject to the depredations of the marauder. Here 
may spring up new and mongrel races, like new formations in 
geology, the amalgamation of the "debris" and "abrasions" of 
former races, civilized and savage ; the remains of broken and 
almost extinguished tribes ; the descendants of wandering hunters 
and trappers ; of fugitives from the Spanish and American fron- 
tiers ; of adventurers and desperadoes of every class and coun- 
try, yearly ejected from the bosom of society into the wilderness. 
We are contributing incessantly to swell this singular and hete- 

10 



218 ASTORIA. 

rogeneous cloud of wild population that is to hang about our 
frontier, bj' the transfer of whole tribes of savages from the east 
of the Mississippi to the great wastes of the far West. Many 
of these bear with them the smart of real or fancied injuries ; 
many consider themselves expatriated beings, wrongfully exiled 
from their hereditary homes, and the sepulchres of their fathers, 
and cherish a deep and abiding animosity against the race that 
has dispossessed them. Some may gradually become pastoral 
hordes, like those rude and migratory people, half shepherd, half 
warrior, who, with their flocks and herds, roam the plains of up- 
per Asia ; but, others, it is to be apprehended, will become pre- 
datory bands, mounted on the fleet steeds of the prairies, with 
the open plains for their marauding grounds, and the mountains 
for their retreats and lurking-places. Here they may resemble 
those great hordes of the North ; " Gog and Magog with their 
bands," that haunted the gloomy imaginations of the prophets. 
" A great company and a mighty host, all riding upon horses, and 
warring upon those nations which were at rest, and dwelt peacea- 
bly, and had gotten cattle and goods." 

The Spaniards changed the whole character and habits of the 
Indians when they brought the horse among them. In Chili, 
Tvicuman and other parts, it has converted them, we are told, into 
Tartar-like tribes, and enabled them to keep the Spaniards out of 
their country, and even to make it dangerous for them to venture 
far from their towns and settlements. Are we not in danger of 
producing some such state of things in the boundless regions of 
the far West 1 That these are not mere fanciful and extravagant 
suggestions we have sufficient proofs in the dangers already ex- 
perienced by the traders to the Spanish mart of Santa Fe, and to 
the distant posts of the fur companies. These are obliged to 
■ proceed in armed ciravans, and are subject to murderous attacks 



BODERS OF ILL LUCK. 219 



from bands of Pawnees, Camanclies and Blackfeet, that como 
Bcouring upon them in their weary march across the plains, or lie 
in wait for them among the pass js of the mountains. 

We are wandering, however, into excursive speculations, when 
our intention was merely to give an idea of the nature of the 
wilderness which Mr. Hunt was about to traverse ; and which at 
that time was far less known that at present ; though it still re- 
mains in a great measure an unknown land. We cannot be sur- 
prised, therefore, that some of the least resolute of his party 
should feel dismay at the thoughts of adventuring into this peri- 
lous wilderness under the uncertain guidance of three hunters, 
who had merely passed once through the country and might have 
forgotten the landmarks. Their apprehensions were aggravated 
by some of Lisa's followers, who, not being engaged in the expe- 
dition, took a mischievous pleasure in exaggerating its dangers. 
They painted in strong colors, to the poor Canadian voyageurs, 
the risk they would run of perishing with hunger and thirst ; of 
being cut off by war-parties of the Sioux who scoured the plains ; 
of having their horses stolen by the Upsarokas or Crows, who in- 
fested the skirts of the Rocky Mountains ; or of being butchered 
by the Blackfeet, who lurked among the defiles. In a word, there 
was little chance of their getting alive across the mountains ; and 
even if they did, those three guides knew nothing of the howling 
wilderness that lay beyond. 

The apprehensions thus awakened in the minds of some of the 
men came well nigh proving detrimental to the expedition. Some 
of them determined to desert, and to make their way back to St. 
Louis. They accordingly purloined several weapons and a barrel 
of gunpowder, as ammunition for their enterprise, and buried 
them in the river bank, intending to seize one of the boats, and 
make off in the night. Fortunately their plot was overheard by 



220 ASTORIA. 

John Day, the Kenkickiau, and commun.eated to the partners. 
who took quiet and effectual means to frustrate it. 

The dangers to be apprehended from the CroAV Indians had 
not been overrated by the camp gossips. These savages, througli 
whose mountain haunts the party would have to pass, were noted 
for daring and excursive habits, and great dexterity in horse 
stealing. Mr. Hunt, therefore, considered himself fortunate in 
having met with a man who might be of great use to him in any 
intercourse he might have with the tribe. This was a wandering 
individual named Edward Rose, whom he had picked up some- 
where on the Missouri — one of those anomalous beings found on 
the frontier, who seem to have neither kin nor country. He had 
lived some time among the Crows, so as to become acquainted with 
their language and customs ; and was, withal, a dogged, sullen, 
silent fellow, with a sinister aspect, and more of the savage than 
the civilized man in his appearance. He was engaged to serve in 
general as a hunter, but as guide and interpreter when they 
should reach the country of the Crows. 

On the 18th of July, Mr. Hunt took up his line of march by 
land from the Arickara village, leaving Mr. Lisa and Mr. Nuttall 
there, where they intended to await the expected arrival of Mr. 
Henry from the Rocky Mountains. As to Messrs. Bradbury and 
Breckenridge, they had departed some days previously, on a voy- 
age down the river to St. Louis, with a detachment from Mr. 
Lisa's party. With all his exertions, Mr. Hunt had been unable 
to obtain a sufficient number of horses for the accommodation of 
all his people. His cavalcade consisted of eighty-two horses, 
most of them heavily laden with Indian goods, beaver traps, am- 
munition, Indian corn, corn meal and other necessaries. Each 
of the partners was mounted, and a horse was allotted to the in- 
terpreter, Pierre Dorion, for the transportation of his luggage 



DEPARTURE FROM THE ARICKARAS. 291 



and liis two children His squaw, for the most part of the time, 
trudged on foot, like the residue of the party ; nor did any of the 
men show more patience and fortitude than this resolute woman 
in enduring fatigue and hardship. 

The veteran trappers and voyageurs of Lisa's party shook 
their heads as their comrades set out, and took leave of them as 
of doomed men ; and even Lisa himself, gave it as his opinion, 
after the travellers had departed, that they would never reach the 
shores of the Pacific, but would either perish with hunger in the 
wilderness, or be cut off by the savages. 



ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

The course taken by Mr. Hunt was at first to the northwest, 
but soon turned and kept generally to the southwest, to avoid 
the country infested by the Blackfeet. His route took him 
across some of the tributary streams of the Missouri, and over 
immense prairies, bounded only by the ' horizon, and destitute of 
trees. It was now the height of summer, and these naked 
plains would be intolerable to the traveller were it not for the 
breezes which sweep over them during the fervor of the day, 
bringing with them tempering airs from the distant mountains. 
To the prevalence of these breezes, and to the want of all leafy 
covert, may we also attribute the freedom from those flies and 
other insects so tormenting to man and beast during the summer 
months, in the lower plains, which are bordered and interspersed 
with woodland. 

The monotony of these immense landscapes, also, would be 
as wearisome as that of the ocean, were it not relieved in some 
degree by the purity and elasticity of the atmosphere, and the 
beauty of the heavens. The sky has that delicious blue for 
which the sky of Italy is renowned ; the sun shines with a splen 
dor, unobscured by any cloud or vapor, and a starlight night on 
the prairies is glorious. This purity and elasticity of atmosphere 
increases as the traveller approaches the mountains, and gradu- 
ally rises into more elevated prairies. 

On the second day of the journey, Mr. Hunt arranged the 
party into small and convenient messes, distributing among them 



CANADIANS IN CAMP. 223 



the camp kettles. The encampments at night were as before ; 
some sleeping under tents, and others bivouacking in the open 
air. The Canadians proved as patient of toil and hardship on 
the land as on the water ; indeed, nothing could surpass the 
patience and good-humor of these men upon the march. They 
were the cheerful drudges of the party, loading and unloading 
the horses, pitching the tents, making the fires, cooking ; in 
short, performing all those household and menial ofl&ces which 
the Indians usually assign to the squaws ; and, like the squaws, 
they left all the hunting and fighting to others. A Canadian has 
but little affection for the exercise of the rifle. 

The progress of the party was but slow for the first few days. 
Some of the men were indisposed ; Mr. Crooks, especially, waa 
so unwell that he could not keep on his horse. A rude kind of 
litter was, therefore, prepared for him, consisting of two long 
poles, fixed, one on each side of two horses, with a matting between 
them, on which he reclined at full length, and was protected from 
the sun by a canopy of boughs. 

On the evening of the 23d (July) they encamped on the banks 
of what they term Big River ; and here we cannot but pause to 
lament the stupid, commonplace, and often ribald names entailed 
upon the rivers and other features of the great West, by traders 
and settlers. As the aboriginal tribes of these magnificent regions 
are yet in existence, the Indian names might easily be recovered ; 
which, beside being in general more sonorous and mitsical, would 
remain mementoes of the primitive lords of the soil, of whom in a 
little while scarce any traces will be left. Indeed, it is to be 
wished that the whole of our country could be rescued, as much 
as possible, from the wretched nomenclature inflicted upon it, by 
ignorant and vulgar minds ; and this might be done, in a great 
degree, by restoring the Indian names, wherever significant and 
euphonious. As there appears to be a spirit of research abroad 

t 



S24 ASTORIA. 

in respect to our aboriginal antiquities, we would suggest, as a 
worthy object of enterprise, a map, or maps, of every part of our 
country, giving the Indian names wherever they could be ascer- 
tained. Whoever achieves such an object worthily, will leave a 
monument to his own reputation. 

To return from this digression. As the travellers were now 
in a country abounding with buffalo, they remained for several 
days encamped upon the banks of Big River, to obtain a supply 
of provisions, and to give the invalids time to recruit. 

On the second day of their sojourn, as Ben Jones, John Day, 
and others of the hunters were in pursuit of game, they came 
upon an Indian camp on the open prairie, near to a small stream 
which ran through a ravine. The tents or lodges were of dressed 
buffalo skins, sewn together and stretched on tapering pine poles, 
joined at top, but radiating at bottom, so as to form a circle capa- 
ble of admitting fifty persons. Numbers of horses were grazing 
in the neighborhood of the camp, or straying at large in the prai- 
rie ; a sight most acceptable to the hunters. After reconnoitring 
the camp for some time, they ascertained it to belong to a band 
of Cheyenne Indians, the same that had sent a deputation to the 
Arickaras. They received the hunters in the most friendly man- 
ner ; invited them to their lodges, which were more cleanly than 
Indian lodges are prone to be, and set food before them with true 
uncivilized hospitality. Several of them accompanied the hunters 
back to the camp, when a trade was immediately opened. The 
Cheyennes were astonished and delighted to find a convoy of 
goods and trinkets thus brought into the very heart of the prai- 
rie ; while Mr. Hunt and his companions were overjoyed to have 
an opportunity of obtaining a further supply of horses from these 
equestrian savages. 

During a fortnight that the ti-avellers lingered at this place, 
their encampment was continually thronged by the Cheyennes. 



SKILL OF THE CHEYENNE HORSEMEN. 225 



They were a civil, well-behaved people, cleanly in their persons 
and decorous in their habits. The men were tall, straight and 
vigorous, with aquiline noses, and high cheek bones. Some were 
almost as naked as ancient statues, and might have stood as 
models for a statuary ; others had leggins and moccasons of deer 
ekin, and buffalo robes, which they threw gracefully over their 
shoulders. In a little while, however, they began to appear in 
more gorgeous array, tricked out in the finery obtained from the 
white men ; bright cloths ; brass rings ; beads of various colors, and 
happy was he who could render himself hideous with vermilion. 

The travellers had frequent occasion to admire the skill and 
grace with which these Indians managed their horses. Some of 
them made a striking display when mounted ; themselves and 
their steeds decorated in gala style ; for the Indians often bestow 
more finery upon their horses than upon themselves. Some 
would hang round the necks, or rather on the breasts of their 
horses, the most precious ornaments they had obtained from the 
white men ; others interwove feathers in their manes and tails. 
The Indian horses, too, appear to have an attachment to their 
wild riders, and indeed it is said that the horses of the prairies 
readily distinguish an Indian from a white man by the smell, 
and give a preference to the former. Yet the Indians, in 
general, are hard riders, and, however they may value their 
horses, treat them with great roughness and neglect. Occa- 
sionally the Cheyennes joined the white hunters in pursuit of 
the elk and buffalo ; and when in the ardor of the chase, spared 
neither themselves nor their steeds, scouring the prairies at full 
speed, and plunging down precipices and frightful ravines* that 
threatened the necks of both horse and horseman. The Indian 
steed, well trained to the chase, seems as mad as his rider, and 
pursues the game as eageily as if it were his natural prey, on 
the flesh of which he was to banquet. 



22G ' ASTORIA. 

The history of the Cheyennes is that of many of those wan 
daring tribes of the prairies. They were the remnant of a once 
powerful people called the Shaways, inhabiting a branch of the 
Ked River which flows into Lake Winnipeg. Every Indian 
tribe has some rival tribe with which it wages implacable hostility. 
The deadly enemies of the Shaways were the Sioux, who, after a 
long course of warfare, proved too powerful for them, and drove 
them across the Missouri. They again took root near the 
Warricanne Creek, and established themselves there in a forti- 
fied village. 

The Sioux still followed them with deadly animosity; dis- 
lodged them from their village, and compelled them to take 
refuge in the Black Hills, near the upper waters of the Sheyenne 
or Cheyenne River. Here they lost even their name, and be- 
came known among the French colonists by that of the river 
they frequented. 

The heart of the tribe was now broken ; its numbers were 
greatly thinned by their harassing wars. They no longer 
attempted to establish themselves in any permanent abode that 
might be an object of attack to their cruel foes. They gave up 
the cultivation of the fruits of the earth, and became a wandering 
tribe, subsisting by the chase, and following the buffalo in its 
migrations. 

Their only possessions were horses, which they caught on the 
prairies, or reared, or captured on predatory incursions into the 
Mexican territories, as has already been mentioned. With some 
of these they repaired once a year to the Arickara villages, ex- 
ehangfed them for corn, beans, pumpkins, and articles of Euro- 
pean merchandise, and then returned into the heart of the 
prairies. 

Such are the fluctuating fortunes of these savage nations. 
War, famine, pestilence, together or singly, bring down their 



] 



FLUCTUATIONS OF SAVAGE LIFE. 227 



strength and thin their numbers. Whole tribes are rooted up 
from their native places, wander for a time about these immense 
regions, become amalgamated with other tribes, or disappear from 
the face of the earth. There appears to be a tendency to extinc- 
tion among all the savage nations ; and this tendency would seem 
to have been in operation among the aboriginals of this country 
long before the advent of the white men, if we may judge from 
the traces and traditions of ancient populousness in regions 
which were silent and deserted at the time of the discovery ; and 
from the mysterious and perplexing vestiges of unknown races, 
predecessors of those found in actual possession, and who must 
long since have become gradually extinguished or been destroyed. 
The whole history of the aboriginal population of this country 
however, is an enigma, and a grand one — will it ever be solved ? 



228 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

On tlie sixth of August the travellers bade farewell to the friend- 
ly band of Cheyennes, and resumed their journey. As they had 
obtained thirty-six additional horses by their recent traffic, Mr. 
Hunt made a new arrangement. The baggage was made up in 
smaller loads. A horse was allotted to each of the six prime 
hunters, and others were distributed among the voyageurs, a 
horse for every two, so that they could ride and walk alternately. 
Mr. Crooks being still too feeble to mount the saddle, was carried 
on a litter. 

Their march this day lay among singulaWiills and knolls of 
an indurated red earth, resembling brick, about the bases of 
which were scattered pumice stones and cinders, the whole bear- 
ing traces of the action of fire. In the evening they encamped 
on a branch of Big River. 

They were now out of the tract of country infested by the 
Sioux, and had advanced such a distance into the interior that 
Mr. Hunt no longer felt apprehensive of the desertion of any 
of his men. He was doomed, however, to experience new cause 
of anxiety. As he was seated in his tent after nightfall, one of 
the men came to him privately, and informed him that there was 
mischief brewing in the camp. Edward Rose, the interpreter, 
whose sinister looks we have already mentioned, was denounced 
by this secret informer as a designing, treacherous scoundrel, who 
was tampering with the fidelity of certain of the men, and insti- 
gating them to a flagrant piece of treason. In the course of a 



TREACHERY IN THE CAMP. 229 



few days tLoy would arrive at the mountainous district infested 
by the Upsarokas or Crows, the tribe among which Rose was to 
oflS.eiate as interpreter. His plan was that several of the men 
should join with him, when in that neighborhood, in carrying- off 
a number of the horses with their packages of goods, and desert- 
ing to those savages. He assured them of good treatment 
among the Crows, the principal chiefs and warriors of whom he 
knew ; they would soon become great men among them, and have 
the finest women, and the daughters of the chiefs, for wives ; and 
the horses and goods they carried off would make them rich for 
life. 

The intelligence of this treachery on the part of Rose gave 
much disquiet to Mr. Hunt, for he knew not how far it might be 
effective among his men. He had already had proofs that several 
of them were disaffected to the enterp^jjse, and loth to cross the 
mountains. He knew also that savage life had charms for 
many of them, especially the Canadians, who were prone to inter- 
marry and domesticate themselves among the Indians. 

And here a word or two concerning the Crows may be of ser- 
vice to the reader, as they will figure occasionally in the succeed- 
ing narration. 

The tribe consists of four bands, which have their nestling- 
places in fertile, well-wooded valleys, lying among the Rocky 
Mountains, and watered by the Big Horse River and its tribu- 
tary streams ; but, though these are properly their homes, where 
they s-helter their old people, their wives, and their children, the 
men of the tribe are almost continually on the foray and the 
scamper. They are, in fact, notorious marauders and horse- 
stealers ; crossing and recrossing the mountains, robbing on the 
one side, and conveying their spoils to the other. Hence, we are 
told, is derived their name, given to them on account of their 
unsettled and predatory habits ; winging their flight, like the 



230 ASTORIA. 

crows, from one side of the mountains to tli2 other, and making 
free booty of every thing that lies in their way. Horses, how- 
ever, are the especial objects of their depredations, and their skill 
and audacity in stealing them are said to be astonishing. This 
is their glory and delight ; an accomplished horse-stealer fills up 
their idea of a hero. Many horses are obtained by them, also, 
in barter from tribes in and beyond the mountains. They \iave 
an absolute passion tor this noble animal ; beside which he is 
with them an important object of traffic. Once a year they make 
a visit to the Mandans, Minatarees, and other tribes of the Mis- 
souri, taking with them droves of horses which they exchange for 
guns, ammunition, trinkets, vermilion, cloths of bright colors, 
and various other articles of European manufacture. With these 
they supply their own wants and caprices, and carry on the 
internal trade for horses ^Iready mentioned. 

The plot of Rose to rob and abandon his countrymen when 
in the heart of the wilderness, and to throw himself into the 
hands of a horde of savages, may appear strange and improbable 
to those unacquainted with the singular and anomalous charac- 
ters that are to be found about the borders. This fellow, it ap- 
pears, was one of those desperadoes of the frontiers, outlawed by 
their crimes, who combine the vices of civilized and savage life, 
and are ten times more barbarous than the Indians with whom 
they consort. Rose had formerly belonged to one of the gangs 
of pirates who infested the islands of the Mississippi, plundering 
boats as they went vip and down the river, and who sometimes 
shifted the scene of their robberies to the shore, waylaying trav 
ellers as they returned by land from New Orleans with the pro- 
■ eeds of their downward voyage, plundering them of their money 
«,nd effects, and often perpetrating the most atrocious murders. 

These hordes of villains being broken up and dispersed. Rose 
had betaken himself to the wilderness, and associated himself 



A DESPERADO OF THE FRONTIER. 231 



witli the Crows, whose predatory habits were congenial with his 
own, had married a woman of the tribe, and, in short, had iden- 
tified himself with those vagrant savages. 

Such was the worthy guide and interpreter, Edward Rose. 
We give his story, however, not as it was known to Mr. Hunt 
and his companions at the time, but as it has been subsequently 
ascertained. Enough was known of the fellow and his dark and 
perfidious character to put Mr. Hunt upon his guard : still, as 
there was no knowing how far his plans might have succeeded, 
and as any rash act might blow the mere smouldering sparks of 
treason into a sudden blaze, it was though advisable by those 
with whom Mr. Hunt consulted, to conceal all knowledge or 
suspicion of the meditated treachery, but to keep up a vigilant 
watch upon the movements of Rose, and a strict guard upon the 
horses at night. 



ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

The plains over which the travellers were journeying continued 
to be destitute of trees or even shrubs ; insomuch that they had 
to use the dung of the buffalo for fuel, as the Arabs of the desert 
use that of the camel. This substitute for fuel is universal 
among the Indians of these upper prairies, and is said to make 
a fire equal to that of turf If a few chips are added, it throws 
out a cheerful and kindly blaze. 

These plains, however, had not always been equally destitute 
of wood, as was evident from the trunks of the trees which the 
travellers repeatedly met with, some still standing, others lying 
about in broken fragments, but all in a fossil state, having 
flourished in times long jjast. In these singular remains, the 
original grain of the wood was still so distinct that they could be 
ascertained to be the ruins of oak trees. Several pieces of the 
fossil wood were selected by the men to serve as whetstones. 

In this part of the journey there was no lack of provisions, 
for the prairies were covered with immense herds of buffalo. 
These, in general, are animals of peaceful demeanor, grazing 
quietly like domestic cattle ; but this was the season when they 
are in heat, and when the bulls are usually fierce and pugnacious. 
There was accordingly a universal restlessness and commotion 
throughout the plain ; and the amorous herds gave utterance to 
their feelings in low bcllowings that resounded like distant 
thunder. Here and there fierce duellos took place between rival 
enamorados ; butting their liuge shagged fronts together, goring 



THE LOST HUNTERS. 233 



eacli other with their short hlack horns, and tearing up the earth 
with their feet in perfect fury. 

In one of the evening halts, Pierre Dorion, the interpreter, 
together with Carson and Gardpie, two of the hunters, were miss- 
ing, nor had they returned by morning. As it was supposed they 
had wandered away in pursuit of buffalo, and would readily find 
the track of the party, no solicitude was felt on their account. A 
fire was left burning, to guide them by its column of smoke, and 
the travellers proceeded on their march. In the evening a signal 
fire was made on a hill adjacent to the camp, and in the morning 
it was replenished with fuel so as to last throughout the day. 
These signals are usual among the Indians, to give warnings to 
each other, or to call home straggling hunters ; and such is the 
transparency of the atmosphere in those elevated plains, that a 
slight column of smoke can be discerned from a great distance, 
particularly in the evenings. Two or three days elapsed, how- 
ever, without the reappearance of the three hunters ; and Mr. 
Hunt slackened his march to give them time to overtake him. 

A vigilant watch continued to be kept upon the movements of 
Hose, and of such of the men as were considered doubtful in their 
loyalty ; but nothing occurred to excite immediate apprehensions. 
Rose evidently was not a favorite among his comrades, and it was 
hoped that he had not been able to make any real partisans. 

On the 10th of August they encamped among hills, on the 
highest peak of which Mr. Hunt caused a huge pyre of pine wood 
to be made, which soon sent up a great column of flame that might 
be seen far and wide over the prairies. This fire blazed all night, 
and was amply replenished at daybreak ; so that the towering 
pillar of smoke could not but be descried by the wanderers if 
within the distance of a day's journey. 

It is a common occurrence in these regions, where the fea- 
tures of the country ao much resemble each other, for hunters to 



234 ASTORIA. 

lose themselves and wander for many days, before they can find 
their way back to the main body of their party. In the present 
instance, however, a more than common solicitude was felt, in 
consequence of the distrust awakened by the sinister designs of 
Eose. 

The route now became excessively toilsome, over a ridge of 
steep rocky hills, covered with loose stones. These were inter- 
sected by deep valleys, formed by two branches of Big River, 
coming from the south of west, both of which they crossed. 
These streams were bordered by meadows, well stocked with 
buffaloes. Loads of meat were brought in by the hunters ; but 
the travellers were rendered dainty by profusion, and would cook 
only the choice pieces. 

They had now travelled for several days at a very slow rate, 
and had made signal-fires and left traces of their route at every 
stage, yet nothing was heard or seen of the lost men. It began 
to be feared that they might have fallen into the hands of some 
lurking band of savages. A party numerous as that of Mr. 
Hunt, with a long train of pack-horses, moving across open plains 
or naked hills, is discoverable at a great distance by Indian 
scouts, who spread the intelligence rapidly to various points, and 
assemble their friends to hang about the skirts of the travellers, 
steal their horses, or cut oS any stragglers from the main body. 

Mr. Hunt and his companions were more and more sensible 
how much it would be in the power of this sullen and daring 
vagabond Rose, to do them mischief, when they should become 
entangled in the defiles of the mountains, with the passes of which 
they were wholly unacquainted, and which were infested by his 
freebooting friends, the Crows. There, should he succeed in se- 
ducing some of the party into his plans, he might carry off the 
best horses an d efiects, throw himself among his savage allies, and 
Bet all pursuit at defiance. Mr. Hunt resolved, therefore, to frus- 



A BRIBE TO BE HONEST. 235 



trate the knave, divert him, by management, from his plans, and 
make it sufficiently advantageous for him to remain honest. He 
took occasion, accordingly, in the course of conversation, to in- 
form Rose that, having engaged him chiefl}^ as a guide and inter- 
preter through the country of the Crows, they would not stand 
in need of his services beyond. Knowing, therefore, his connec- 
tion by marriage with that tribe, and his predilection for a resi- 
dence among them, they would put no restraint upon his will, but, 
whenever they met with a party of that people, would leave him 
at liberty to remain among his adopted brethren. Furthermore 
that, in thus parting with him, they would pay him half a year's 
wages in consideration of his past services, and would give him a 
horse, three beaver traps, and sundry other articles calculated to 
set him up in the world. 

This unexpected liberality, which made it nearly as profitable 
and infinitely less hazardous for Rose to remain honest than to 
play the rogue, completely disarmed him. From that time his 
whole deportment underwent a change. His brow cleared up 
and appeared more cheerful ; he left off his sullen, skulking habits, 
and made no further attempts to tamper with the faith of his 
comrades. 

On the 13th of August Mr. Hunt varied his course, and in- 
clined westward, in hopes of falling in with the three lost hunt- 
ers ; who, it was now thought, might have kept to the right hand 
of Big River. This course soon brought him to a fork of the 
Little Missouri, about a hundred yards wide, and resembling the 
great river of the same name in the strength of its current, its 
turbid water, and the frequency of drift-wood and sunken trees, 

Rugged mountains appeared ahead, crowding down to the 
water edge, and offering a barrier to further progress on the side 
they were ascending. Crossing the river, therefore, they en- 
camped on its northwest bank, whore they found good pasturage 



i 

236 ' ASTORIA. 

and buffalo in abundance. The weather was overcast and rainy, 
and a general gloom pervaded the camp ; the voyageura sat 
smoking in groups, with their shoulders as high as their heads, 
croaking their forebodings, when suddenly towards evening a 
shout of joy gave notice that the lost men were found. They 
came slowly lagging into the camp, with weary looks, and horses 
iaded and wayworn. They had, in fact, been for several days in- 
cessantly on the move. In their hunting excursion on the prairies 
they had pushed so far in pursuit of buffalo, as to find it impos- 
sible to retrace their steps over plains trampled by innumerable 
herds ; and were baffled by the monotony of the landscape in 
their attempts to recall landmarks. They had ridden to and fro 
until they had almost lost the points of the compass, and become 
totally bewildered ; nor did they ever perceive any of the signal 
fires and columns of smoke made by their comrades. At length, 
about two days previously, when almost spent by anxiety and 
hard riding, they came, to their great joy, upon the " trail " of 
the party, which they had since followed up steadily. 

Those only, who have experienced the warm cordiality that 
grows up between comrades in wild and adventurous expeditions 
of the kind, can picture to themselves the hearty cheering with 
which the stragglers were welcomed to the camp. Every one 
crowded round them to ask questions, and to hear the story of 
their mishaps ; and even the aquaw of the moody half-breed, 
Pierre Dorion, forgot the sternness of his domestic rule, and the 
conjugal discipline of the cudgel, in her joy at his safe return. 



BLACK MOUNTAINS.. 237 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

BIk. Hunt and Iiis party were now on the skirts of the Black 
Hills, or Black Mountains, as they are sometimes called ; an ex- 
tensive chain, lying about a hundred miles east of the Bocky 
Mountains, and stretching in a northeast direction from the south 
fork of the Nebraska, or Platte Biver, to the great north bend of 
the Missouri. The Sierra or ridge of the Black Hills, in fact, 
forms the dividing line between the waters of the Missouri and 
those of the Arkansas and the Mississippi, and gives rise to the 
Cheyenne, the Little Missouri, and several tributary streams of 
the Yellowstone. 

The wild recesses of these hills, like those of the Bocky 
Mountains, are retreats and lurking-places for broken and preda- 
tory tribes, and it was among them that the remnant of the 
Cheyenne tribe took refuge, as has been stated, from their con- 
:][uering enemies, the Sioux. 

The Black Hills are chiefly composed of sandstone, and in 
many places are broken into savage cliffs and precipices, and pre- 
sent the most singular and fantastic forms ; sometimes resembling 
towns and castellated fortresses. The ignorant inhabitants of 
plains are prone to clothe the mountains that bound their horizon 
with fanciful and superstitious attributes. Thus the wandering 
tribes of the prairies, who often behold clouds gathering round 
the summits of these hills, and lightning flashing, and thunder 
pealing from them, when all the neighboring plains are serene 
.and sunny, consider thim the abode of the genii or thunder- 



238 ASTORIA. 



spirits, who fabricate storms and tempests. On entering their 
defiles, therefore, they often hang offerings on the trees, or place 
them on the rocks, to propitiate the invisible " lords of the moun- 
tains," and procure good weather and successful hunting ; and 
they attach unusual significance to the echoes which haunt the 
precipices. This superstition may also have arisen, in part, from 
a natural phenomenon of a singular nature. In the most calm 
and serene weather, and at all times of the day or night, succes- 
sive reports are now and then heard among these mountains, 
resembling the discharge of several pieces of artillery. Similar 
reports were heard by Messrs. Lewis and Clarke in the Rocky 
Mountains, which they say, were attributed by the Indians to the 
bursting of the rich mines of silver contained in the bosom of the 
mountains. 

In fact these singular explosions have received fanciful expla- 
nations from learned men, and have not been satisfactorily 
accounted for even by philosophers. They are said to occur fre- 
quently in Brazil. Vasconcelles, a Jesuit father, describes one 
which he heard in the Sierra, or mountain region of Piratininga, 
and which he compares to the discharges of a park of artillery. 
The Indians told him that it was an explosion of stones. The 
worthy father had soon a satisfactory proof of the truth of their 
information, for the very place was found where a rock had burst 
and exploded from its entrails a stony mass, like a bomb-shell, 
and of the size of a bull's heart. This mass was broken either 
in its ejection or its fall, and wonderful was the internal organi- 
zation revealed. It had a shell harder even than iron ; within 
which were arranged, like the seeds of a pomegranate, jewels of 
various colors ; some transparent as crystal ; others of a fine red, 
and others of mixed hues. The same phenomenon is said to oc- 
cur occasionally in the adjacent province of Guayra, where stones 
of the bigness of a man's hand are exploded, with a loud noise. 



SOUNDS IN THE MOUNTAINS. 239 



from the bosom of the earth, and scatter about glittering and 
beautiful fragments that look like precious gems, but are of no 
value. 

The Indians of the Orellanna, also, tell of horrible noises 
heard occasionally in the Paraguaxo, which they consider the 
throes and groans of the mountain, endeavoring to cast forth the 
precious stones hidden within its entrails. Others have endeav- 
ored to account for these discharges of "mountain artillery" on 
liumbler principles ; attributing them to the loud reports made 
by the disruption and fall of great masses of rock, reverberated 
and prolonged by the echoes ; others, to the disengagement of 
hydrogen, produced by subterraneous beds of coal in a state of 
ignition. In whatever way this singular phenomenon may be 
accounted for, the existence of it appears to be well established. 
It remains one of the lingering mysteries of nature which throw 
something of a supernatural charm over her wild mountain soli- 
tudes ; and we doubt whether the imaginative reader will not 
riither join with the poor Indian in attributing it to the thunder- 
spirits, or the guardian genii of unseen treasures, than to any 
commonplace physical cause. 

Whatever might be the supernatural influences among these 
mountains, the travellers found their physical difficulties hard 
to cope with. They made repeated attempts to find a passage 
through, or over the chain, but were as often turned back by 
impassable barriers. Sometimes a defile seemed to open a prac- 
ticable path, but it would terminate in some wild chaos of rocks 
and cliffs, which it was impossible to climb. The animals of 
these solitary regions were diff"ereut from those they had been 
accustomed to. The black-tailed deer would bound up the 
ravines on their approach, and the bighorn would gaze fearlessly 
down upon them from some impending precipice, or skip play- 
fully from rock to rock. These animals are only to be it.et with 



240 ASTORIA. 

in ml untainons regions. The former is larger than the common 
deer, but its flesh is not equally esteemed by hunters. It has 
very large ears, and the tip of the tail is black, from which it 
derives its name. 

The bighorn is so named from its horns ; which are of a great 
size, and twisted like those of a ram. It is called by some the 
argali, by others, the ibex, though difi"ering from both of these 
animals. The Mandans call it the ahsahta, a name much better 
than the clumsy appellation which it generally bears. It is of 
the size of a small elk, or large deer, and of a dun color, ex- 
cepting the belly and round the tail, where it is white. In its 
habits it resembles the goat, frequenting the rudest precipices ; 
cropping the herbage from their edges ; and like the chamois, 
bounding lightly and securely among dizzy heights, where the 
hunter dares not venture. It is difiicult, therefore, to get within 
shot of it. Ben Jones the hunter, however, in one of the passes 
of the Black Hills, succeeded in bringing down a bighorn from 
the verge of a precipice, the flesh of which was pronounced by 
the gourmands of the camp to have the flavor of excellent 
mutton. 

BaflJed in his attempts to traverse this mountain chain, Mr. 
Hunt skirted along it to the southwest, keeping it on the right ; 
and still in hopes of finding an opening. At an early hour one 
day, he encamped in a narrow valley on the banks of a beautifully 
clear but rushy pool ; surrounded by thickets bearing abundance 
of wild cherries, currants, and yellow and purple gooseberries. 

While the afternoon's meal was in preparation, Mr. Hunt and 
Mr. M'Kenzie ascended to the summit of the nearest hill, from 
whence, aided by the purity and transparency of the evening 
atmosphere, they commanded a vast prospect on all sides. Be- 
low them extended a plain, dotted with innumerable herds of 
buffalo. Some were lying down among the herbage, others roam 



THE GRIZZLY BEAR, 241 



ing in tteir unbounded pastures, while many were engaged in 
fierce contests like those already described, their low bellowinga 
reaching the ear like the hoarse murmurs of the surf on a distant 
shore. 

Far off in the west they descried a range of lofty mountains 
printing the clear horizon, some of them evidently capped with 
snow. These they supposed to be the Big Horn Mountains, so 
called from the animal of that name, with which they abound. 
They are a spur of the great Rocky chain. The hill from whence 
Mr. Hunt had this prospect was, according to his computation, 
about two hundred and fifty miles from the Arickara village. 

On returning to the camp, Mr. Hunt found some uneasiness 
prevailing among the Canadian voyageurs. In straying among 
the thickets they had beheld tracks of grizzly bears in every 
direction ; doubtless attracted thither by the fruit. To their 
dismay, they now found that they had encamped in one of the 
favorite resorts of this dreaded animal. The idea marred all the 
comfort of the encampment. As night closed, the surrounding 
thickets were peopled with terrors ; insomuch that, according to 
Mr. Hunt, they could not help starting at every little breeze 
that stirred the bushes. 

The grizzly bear is the only really formidable quadruped of 
our continent. He is the favorite theme of the hunters of the 
far West, who describe him as equal in size to a common cow and 
of prodigious strength. He makes battle if assailed, and often, 
if pressed by hunger, is the assailant. If wounded, he becomes 
furious and will pursue the hunter. His speed exceeds that of 
a man, but is inferior to that of a horse. In attacking he rears 
himself on his hind legs, and springs the length of his body. 
Woe to horse or rider that comes within the sweep of his terrific 
claws, which are sometimes nine inches in length, and tear every 
thing before them. 

11 



242 ASTORIA. 



At the time we ai-c treating of, the grizzly bear was still 
frequent on the Missouri, and in the lower country, but, like 
some of the broken tribes of the prairie, he has gradually fallen 
back before his enemies, and is now chiefly to be found iu the 
upland regions, in rugged fastnesses, like those of the Black 
Hills and the Rocky Mountains. Here he lurks in caverns, or 
holes which he has digged in the sides of hills, or under the 
roots and trunks of fallen trees. Like the common bear he is 
fond of fruits, and mast, and roots, the latter of which he will 
dig up with his fore claws. He is carnivorous also, and will 
even attack and conquer the lordly buffalo, dragging his huge 
carcass to the neighborhood of his den, that he may prey upon it 
at his leisure. 

The hunters, both white and red men, consider this the most 
heroic game. They prefer to hunt him on horseback, and will 
venture so near as sometimes to singe his hair with the flash of 
the rifle. The hunter of the grizzly bear, however, must be an 
experienced hand, and know where to aim at a vital part ; for of 
all quadrupeds, he is the most difficult to be killed. He will 
receive repeated wounds without flinching, and rarely is a shot 
mortal unless through the head or heart. 

That the dangers apprehended from the grizzly bear, at this 
night encampment, were not imaginary, was proved on the follow- 
ing morning. Among the hired men of the party was one 
William Cannon, who had been a soldier at one of the frontier 
posts, and entered into the employ of Mr. Hunt at Mackinaw. 
He was an inexperienced hunter and a j^oor shot, for which he 
was much bantered by his more adroit comrades. Piqued at 
their raillery, he had been practising ever since he had joined 
the expedition, but without success. In the course of the pre- 
sent afternoon, he went forth by himself to take a lesson in 
venerie, and, to his great delight, had the good fortune to kill a 



ADVENTURE OF WILLIAM CANNON. 243 



buffalo. As lie was a considerable distance from the camp, he 
cut out the tongue and some of the choice bits, made them into 
a parcel, and, slinging them on his shoulders by a strap passed 
round his forehead, as the voyagcurs carry packages of goods, 
set out all glorious for the camp, anticipating a triumph over his 
brother hunters. In passing through a narrow ravine, he heard 
a noise behind him, and looking round beheld, to his dismay, a 
grizzly bear in full pursuit, apparently attracted by the scent of 
the meat. Cannon had heard so much of the invulnerability of 
this tremendous animal, that he never attempted to fire, but, 
slipping the strap from his forehead, let go the buffalo meat and 
ran for his life. The bear did not stop to regale himself with 
the game, but kept on after the hunter. He had neai-ly over- 
taken him when Cannon reached a tree, and, throwing down his 
rifle, scrambled up it. The next instant Bru.in was at the foot 
of the tree ; but, as this species of bear does not climb, he con- 
tented himself with turning the chase into a blockade. Night 
came on. In the darkness Cannon could not perceive Avhether 
or not the enemy maintained his station ; but his fears pictured 
him rigorously mounting guard. He passed the night, therefore, 
in the tree, a prey to dismal fancies. In the morning the bear 
was gone. Cannon warily descended the tree, gathered up his 
gun, and made the best of his way back to the camp, without 
venturing to look after his buffalo meat. 

While on this theme we will add another anecdote of an ad- 
venture with a grizzly bear, told of John Day, the Kentucky 
hunter, but which happened at a different period of the expedi- 
tion. l>ay was hunting in company with one of the clerks of the 
company, a lively youngster, who was a great favorite with the 
veteran, but whose vivacity he had continually to keep in check. 
They were in search of deer, when suddenly a huge grizzly bear 
emerged from a thicket about thirty yards distant, rearing him- 



244 ASTORIA. 

self upon his hind legs with a terrific growl, and displaying a 
hideous array of teeth and claws. The rifle of the young man 
was levelled in an instant, but John Day's iron hand was as quickly 
upon his arm. " Be quiet, boy ! be quiet !" exclaimed the hunter 
between his clinched teeth, and without turning his eyes from 
the bear. They remained motionless. The monster regarded 
them for a time, then, lowering himself on his fore paws, slowly 
withdrew. He had not gone many paces before he again turned, 
reared himself on his hind legs, and repeated his menace. Day's 
hand was still on the arm of his young companion ; he again 
pressed it hard, and kept repeating between his teeth, " Quiet, 
boy ! — keep quiet ! — keep quiet !" — though the latter had not 
made a move since his first prohibition. The bear again lowered 
himself on all fours, retreated some twenty yards further, and 
again turned, reared, showed his teeth, and growled. This third 
menace was too much for the game spirit of John Day. " By 
Jove !" exclaimed he, " I can stand this no longer," and in an 
instant a ball from his rifle whizzed into the foe. The wound 
was not mortal ; but, luckily, it dismayed instead of enraging 
the animal, and he retreated into the thicket. 

Day's young companion reproached him for not practising the 
caution which he enjoined upon others. " Why, boy," replied 
the veteran, " caution is caution, but one must not put up with 
too much even from a bear. Would you have me suffer myself 
to be bullied all day by a varmint ?" 



AN INDIAN TRAIL. 245 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Foe, ilie two following days, the travellers pursued a westerly 
course for thirty-four miles along a ridge of country dividing the 
tributary waters of the Missouri and the Yellowstone. As land- 
marks they guided themselves by the sumiuits of the far distant 
mountains, which they supposed to belong to the Big Horn chain, 
They were gradually rising into a higher temperature, for the 
weather was cold for the season, with a sharp frost in the night, 
and ice of an eighth of an inch in thickness. 

On the twenty-second of August, early in the day, they came 
upon the trail of a numerous band. Rose and the other hunters 
examined the foot-prints with great attention, and determined it 
to be the trail of a party of Crows, returning from an annual 
trading visit to the Mandans. As this trail afforded more com- 
modious travelling, they immediately struck into it, and followed 
it for two days. It led them over rough hills, and through broken 
gullies, during which time they suffered great fatigue from the 
ruggedness of the country. The weather, too, which had re- 
cently been frosty, was now oppressively warm, and there was a 
great scarcity of water, insomuch that a valuable dog belonging 
to Mr. M'Kenzie died of thirst. 

At one time they had twenty-five miles of painful travel, with- 
out a drop of water, until they arrived at a small running stream 
Here they eagerly slaked their thirst ; but, this being allayed, 
the calls of hunger became equally importunate. Ever since they 
had got among these barren and arid hills, where there was a 



346 ASTORIA. 

deficiency of grass, they had met with no buffaloes ; those ani- 
mals keeping in the grassy meadows near the streams. They 
were obliged, therefore, to have recourse to their corn meal, which 
they reserved for such emergencies. Some, however, were lucky 
enough to kill a wolf, which they cooked for supper, and pro- 
nounced excellent food. 

The next morning they resumed their wayfaring, hungry and 
jaded, and had a dogged march of eighteen miles among the same 
kind of hills. At length they emerged upon a stream of clear 
water, one of the forks of Powder River, and to their great 
joy beheld once more wide grassy meadows, stocked with herds 
of buffalo. For several days they kept along the banks of the 
river, ascending it about eighteen miles. It was a hunter's para- 
dise ; the buffaloes were in such abundance that they were ena- 
bled to kill as many as they pleased, and to jerk a sufficient 
supply of meat for several days' journeying. Here, then, they 
revelled and rej)Osed after their hungry and weary travel, hunt- 
ing and feasting, and reclining upon the grass. Their quiet, 
however, was a little marred by coming upon traces of Indians, 
who, they conckided, must be Crows ; they were therefore 
obliged to keep a more vigilant watch than ever upon their 
horses. For several days they had been directing their march 
towards the lofty mountain descried by Mr. Hunt and Mr. 
M'Kenzie on the 17th of August, the height of which rendered 
it a landmark over a vast extent of country. At first it had 
appeared to them solitary and detached ; but as they advanced 
towards it, it proved to be the principal summit of a chain of moun- 
tains. Day by day it varied in form, or rather its lower peaks, 
and the summits of others of the chain emerged above the clear 
horizon, and finally the inferior line of hills which connected most 
of them rose to view. So far, however, are objects discernible in 
the pure atmosphere of these elevated plains, that, from the place 



PEAKS OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 247 



wliere they first descried the main mountain, they had to travel 
a hundred and fifty miles before they reached its base. Here 
they encamped on the thirtieth of August, having come nearly 
four hundred miles since leaving the Arickara village. 

The mountain which now towered above them was one of the 
Big Horn chain, bordered by a river of the same name, and ex 
tending for a long distance rather east of north and west of 
south. It was a part of the great system of granite mountains 
which forms one of the most important and striking features of 
North America, stretching parallel to the coast of the Pacific 
from the Isthmus of Panama almost to the Arctic Ocean ; and 
presenting a corresponding chain to that of the Andes in the 
southern hemisphere. This vast range has acquired from its rug- 
ged and broken character, and its summits of naked granite, the 
appellation of the Rocky Mountains, a name by no means dis- 
tinctive, as all elevated ranges are rocky. Among the early ex- 
plorers it was known as the range of Chippewyan Mountains, and 
this Indian name is the one it is likely to retain in poetic usage. 
Rising from the midst of vast plains and prairies, traversing sev- 
eral degrees of latitude, dividing the waters of the Atlantic and 
the Pacific, and seeming to bind with diverging ridges the level 
regions on its flanks, it has been figuratively termed the back- 
bone of the northern continent. 

The Rocky Mountains do not present a range of uniform 
elevation, but rather groups and occasionally detached peaks. 
Though some of these rise to the region of perpetual snows, and 
are upwards of eleven thousand feet in real altitude, yet their 
height from their immediate basis is not so great as might be 
imagined, as they swell up from elevated plains, several thousand 
feet above the level of the ocean. These plains arc often of a 
desolate sterility ; mere sandy wastes, formed of the detritus of 
the granite heights, destitute of trees and herbage, scorched by 



248 ASTORIA. 

the ardent and reflected rays of the summer s sun, and, in winter, 
swept by chilling blasts from the snow-clad mountains. Such is a 
great part of that vast region extending north and south along 
the mountains, several hundred miles in width, which has not im- 
properly been termed the Great American Desert. It is a region 
that almost discourages all hope of cultivation, and can only be 
traversed with safety by keeping near the streams which inter- 
sect it. Extensive plains likewise occur among the higher re- 
gions of the mountains, of considerable fertility. Indeed, these 
lofty j)lats of table-land seem to form a peculiar feature in the 
American continents. Some occur among the Cordilleras of the 
Andes, where cities, and towns, and cultivated farms, are to be 
seen eight thousand feet above the level of the sea. 

The Rocky Mountains, as we have already observed, occur 
sometimes singly or in groups, and occasionally in collateral 
ridges. Between these are deep valleys, with small streams 
winding through them, which find their way into the lower plains, 
augmenting as they proceed, and ultimately discharging them- 
selves into those vast rivers, which traverse the prairies like great 
arteries, and drain the continent. 

While the granitic summits of tJie Rocky Mountains are 
bleak and bare, many of the inferior ridges are scantily clothed 
with scrubbed pines, oaks, cedar and furze. Various parts of 
the mountains also bear traces of volcanic action. Some of the 
interior valleys are strewed with scoria and broken stones, evi- 
dently of volcanic origin ; the surrounding rocks bear the like 
character, and vestiges of extinguished craters are to be seen on 
the elevated heights. 

We have already noticed the superstitious feelings with 
which the Indians regard the Black Hill ; but this immense 
range of mountains, which divides all that they know of the 
world, and gives birth to such mighty rivers, is still more an 



TOWNb OF THE GENEROUS SPIRITS. 249 



object of awe and veneration. They call it " the crest of the 
■world," and think that Wacondah, or the master of life, as they 
designate the Supreme Being, has his residence among these 
aerial heights. The tribes on the eastern prairies call them the 
mountains of the setting sun. Some of them place the "happy 
hunting-grounds," their ideal paradise, among the recesses of 
these mountains ; but say that they are invisible to living men. 
Here also is the " Land of Souls," in which are the " towns of 
the free and generous spirits," where those who have pleased the 
master of life while living, enjoy after death all manner of de- 
lights. 

Wonders are told of these mountains by the distant tribes, 
whose warriors or hunters have ever wandered in their neighbor- 
hood. It is thought by some that, after death, they will have to 
travel to these mountains and ascend one of their highest and 
most rugged peaks, among rocks and snows and tumbling tor- 
rents. After many moons of painful toil they will reach the 
summit, from whence they will have a view over the land of 
souls. There they will see the happy hunting-grounds, with the 
souls of the brave and good living in tents in green meadows, by 
bright running streams, or hunting the herds of buffalo, and elks, 
and deer, which have been slain on earth. There, too, they will 
see the villages or towns of the free and generous spirits bright- 
ening in the midst of delicious prairies. If they have acquitted 
themselves well while living, they will be permitted to descend 
and enjoy this happy country; if otherwise, they will but be 
tantalized with this prospect of it, and then hurled back from 
the mountain to wander about the sandy plains, and endure the 
eternal pangs of unsatisfied thirst and hunger. 

11* 



250 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

The travellers had now arrived in the vicinity of the mountain 
regions infested by the Crow Indians. These restless mai-auders, 
as has already been observed, are apt to be continually on the 
prowl about the skirts of the mountains ; and even when en- 
camped in some deep and secluded glen, they keep scouts upon 
the cliffs and promontories, who, unseen themselves, can discern 
every living thing that moves over the subjacent plains and val- 
leys. It v/as not to be expected that our travellers could pass 
unseen through a region thus vigilantly sentinelled ; accordingly, 
in the edge of the evening, not long after they had encamped at 
the foot of the Big Horn Sierra, a couple of wild-looking beings, 
scantily clad in skins, but well armed, and mounted on horses 
as wild-looking as themselves, were seen approaching with great 
caution from among the rocks. They might have been mistaken 
for two of the evil spirits of the mountains so formidable in 
Indian fable. 

Hose was immediately sent out to hold a parley with them, 
and invite them to the camp. They proved to be two scouts 
from the same band that had been tracked for some days past, 
and which was now encamped at some distance in the folds of the 
mountain. They were easily prevailed ixpon to come to the camp, 
where they were well received, and, after remaining there until 
late in the evening, departed to make a report of all they had 
seen and experienced, to their companions. 

The following day had scarce davv'ned, when a troop of thefie 



MOUNTAIN SCAMPERERS.— A CROW CAMP. D51 



wild mountain scamperers eame galloping with vvlioops and yells 
into the camp, bringing an invitation from their chief for the 
white men to visit him. The tents were accordingly struck, the 
horses laden, and the party were soon on the march. The Crow 
horsemen, as they escorted them, appeared to take pride in show- 
ing off their equestrian skill and hardihood; careering at full 
speed on their half-savage steeds, and dashing among rocks and 
crags, and up and down the most rugged and dangerous places 
with perfect ease and unconcern. 

A ride of sixteen miles brought them, in the afternoon, in 
sight of the Crow camp. It was composed of leathern tents, 
pitched in a meadow on the border of a small clear stream at the 
foot of the mountain. A great number of horses were grazing in 
the vicinity, many of them doubtless captured in marauding 
excursions. 

The Crow chieftain came forth to meet his guests with great 
professions of friendship, and conducted them to his tents, point- 
ing out, by the way, a convenient place where they might fix 
their camp. No sooner had they done so, than Mr. Hunt opened 
some of the packages and made the chief a present of a scarlet 
blanket, and a quantity of powder and ball ; he gave him also 
some knives, trinkets, and tobacco to be distributed among his 
warriors, with all which the grim potentate seemed, for the time, 
well pleased. As the Crows, however, were reputed to be per- 
fidious in the extreme, and as errant freebooters as''the bird after 
which they were so worthily named ; and as their general feel- 
ings towards the whites were known to be by no means friendly, 
the intercourse with them was conducted with great circum- 
spection. 

The following aay was passed in trading with the Crows for 
bufialo robes and skins, and in bartering galled and jaded horses 
for others that w"re in good condition. Some of the men also, 



252 ASTORIA. 

purchased horses on theii' own account, so that the number now 
amounted to one hundred and twenty-one, most of them sound 
and active, and fit for mountain service. 

Their wants being supplied they ceased all further traffic, 
much to the dissatisfaction of the Crows, who became extremely 
urgent to continue the trade, and, finding their importunities ot 
no avail, assumed an insolent and menacing tone. All this was 
attributed by Mr. Hunt and his associates, to the perfidious insti- 
gations of Rose the interpreter, who they suspected of the desire 
to foment ill-will between them and the savages, for the promo- 
tion of his nefarious plans. M'Lellan, with his usual tranchant 
mode of dealing out justice, resolved to shoot the desperado on 
the spot in case of any outbreak. Nothing of the kind, however, 
occurred. The Crows were probably daunted by the resolute, 
though quiet demeanor of the white men, and the constant vigi- 
lance and armed preparations which they maintained ; and Rose, 
if he really still harbored his knavish designs, must have per- 
ceived that they were suspected, and, if attempted to be carried 
into efi"ect, might bring ruin on his own head. ■ 

The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Hunt proposed to 
resume his journeying. He took a ceremonious leave of the Crow 
chieftain, and his vagabond warriors, and, according to previous 
Ejirrangements, consigned to their cherishing friendship and fratei'- 
nal adoption, their worthy confederate. Rose ; who, having figured 
among the water pirates of the Mississippi, was well fitted to rise 
to distinction among the land pirates of the Rocky Mountains. 

It is proper to add, that the ruffian was well received among 
the tribe, and appeared to bo perfectly satisfied with the compro- 
mise he had made ; feeling much more at his ease among savages 
than among white men. It is outcasts from civilization, fugitive.? 
from justice, and heartless desperadoes of this kind, who sow the 
seeds of enmity and bitterness among the unfortunate tribes of 



AN ADOPTED CROW. 253 



the frontier. There is no enemy so implacable against a country 
or a community as one of its own people who has rendered him- 
self an alien by his crimes. 

Right glad to be relieved from this treacherous companion, 
Mr. Hunt pursued his course along the skirts of the mountain, in 
a southern direction, seeking for some practicable defile by which 
he might pass through it ; none such presented, however, in the 
course of fifteen miles, and he encamped on a small stream, still 
on the outskirts. The green meadows which border these moun- 
tain streams are generally well stocked with game, and the hunt- 
ers soon killed several fat elks, which supplied the camp with 
fresh meat. In the evening the travellers were surprised by an 
unwelcome visit from several Crows belonging to a different band 
from that which they had recently left, and who said their camp 
was among the mountains. The consciousness of being environed 
by such dangerous neighbors, and of being still within the range 
of Rose and his fellow ruffians, obliged the party to be continually 
on the alert, and to maintain weary vigils throughout the night, 
lest they should be robbed of their horses. 

On the third of September, finding that the mountain still 
stretched onwards, presenting a continued barrier, they endea- 
vored to force a passage to the westward, but soon became entan- 
gled among rocks and precipices which set all their efforts at de- 
fiance. The mountain seemed, for the most part, rugged, bare, 
and sterile ; yet here and there it was clothed with pines, and 
with shrubs and flowering plants, some of which were in bloom. 
In toiling among these weary places, their thirst became exces- 
sive, for no water was to be met with. Numbers of the men 
wandered off into rocky dells and ravines in hopes of finding 
some brook or fountain ; some of whom lost their way and did 
not rejoin the main party. 

After half a day of painful and fruitlesp scrambling, Mr. 



254 ASTORIA. 

Hunt gave up the attempt to penetrate in tliis direction, and, 
returning to the little stream on tlie skirts of the mountain, 
pitched his tents within six miles of his encampment of the pre- 
ceding night. He now ordered that signals should be made for 
the stragglers in quest of water, but the night passed away with- 
out their return. 

The next morning, to their surprise, Rose made his appear- 
ance at the camp, accompanied by some of his Crow associates. 
His unwelcome visit revived their suspicions ; but he announced 
himself as a messenger of good-will from the chief, who, finding 
they had taken a wrong road, had sent Rose and his companions 
to guide them to a nearer and better one across the mountain. 

Having no choice, being themselves utterly at fault, they set 
out under this questionable escort. They had not gone far be- 
fore they fell in with the whole party of Crows, who, they now 
found, were going the same road with themselves. The two cav- 
alcades of white and red men, therefore, pushed on together, and 
presented a wild and ^picturesque spectacle, as, equipped with va- 
rious weapons and in various garbs, with trains of pack-horses, 
they wound in long lines through the rugged defiles, and up and 
down the crags and steeps of the mountain. 

The travellers had again an opportunity to see and admire the 
equestrian habitudes and address of this hard-riding tribe. They 
were all mounted, man, woman, and child, for the Crows have 
horses in abundance, so that no one goes on foot. The children 
are perfect imps on horseback. Among them was one so young 
that he could not yet speak. He was tied on a colt of two years 
old, but managed the reins as if by instinct, and plied the whip 
with true Indian prodigality. Mr. Hunt inquired the age of 
this infant jockey, and was answered that " he had seen two 
tvinters." 

This is almost realizing the fable of the centaurs : nor can 



SEARCH AFTER STRAGGLERS. 255 



we wonder at tlie equestrian adroitness of these savages, wiio are 
thus in a manner cradled in the saddle, and become in infancy 
almost identified with the animal they bestride. 

The mountain defiles were exceedingly rough and broken, and 
the travelling painful to the burdened horses. The party, there- 
fore, proceeded but slowly, and were gradually left behind by the 
band of Crows, who had taken the lead. It is more than proba- 
ble that Mr. Hunt loitered in his course, to get rid of such doubt- 
ful fellow-travellers. Certain it is that he felt a sensation of 
relief as he saw the whole crew, the renegade Rose, and all, dis- 
appear among the windings of the mountain, and heard the last 
yelp of the savages die away in the distance. 

When they were fairly out of sight, and out of hearing, he 
encamped on the head waters of the little stream of the preceding 
day, having come about sixteen miles. Here he remained all the 
succeeding day, as well to give time for the Crows to get in the 
advance, as for the stragglers, who had wandered away in quest of 
water two days previously, to rejoin the camp. Indeed, consider- 
able uneasiness began to be felt concerning these men, lest they 
should become utterly bewildered in the defiles of the mountains, 
or should fall into the hands of some marauding band of savages. 
Some of the most experienced hunters were sent in search of 
them, ethers, in the meantime, employed themselves in hunting 
The narrow valley in which they encamped being watered by a 
running stream, yielded fresh pasturage, and, though in the heart 
of the Big Horn Mountains, was well stocked with bufialo. Sev- 
eral of these were killed, as also a grizzly bear. In the evening, 
to the satisfaction of all parties, the stragglers made their ap- 
pearance, and provisions being in abundance, there was hearty 
good cheer in the camp. 



256 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Resuming their course on tlie following morning, Mr. Hunt and 
his companions continued on westward through a rugged region 
of hills and rocks, but diversified in many places by grassy little 
glens, with springs of water, bright sparkling brooks, clumps of 
pine trees, and a profusion of flowering plants, which were in 
full bloom, although the weather was frosty. These beautiful 
and verdant recesses, running through and softening the rugged 
mountains, were cheering and refreshing to the wayworn tra- 
vellers. 

In the course of the morning, as they were entangled in a 
defile, they beheld a small band of savages, as wild-looking as 
the surrounding scenery, who reconnoitred them warily from the 
rocks before they ventured to advance. Some of them were 
mounted on horses rudely caparisoned, with bridles or halters of 
bufi"alo hide, one end trailing after them on the ground. They 
proved to be a mixed party of Flatheads and Shoshonies, or 
Snakef ; and as these tribes will be frequently mentioned in the 
course of this work, we shall give a few introductory particulars 
concerning them. 

The Flatheads in question are not to be confounded with 
those of the name who dwell about the lower waters of the 
Columbia ; neither do they flatten their heads, as the others do. 
They inhabit the banks of a river on the west side 6f the moun- 
tains, and are described as simple, honest, and hospitable. Like 
all people of similar character, whether civilized or savage, they 



DIGGERS AND SHOSHONIES. 257 



are prone to be imposed upon ; and are especially maltreated by 
the ruthless Blackfeet, who harass them in their villages, steal 
their horses by night, or openly carry them off in the face of 
day, without provoking pursuit or retaliation. 

The Shoshonies are a branch of the once powerful and pros- 
perous tribe of the Snakes, who possessed a glorious hunting 
country about the upper forks of the Missouri, abounding in 
beaver and buffalo. Their hunting ground was occasionally 
invaded by the Blackfeet, but the Snakes battled bravely for 
their domains, and a long and bloody feud existed, with variable 
success. At length the Hudson's Bay Company, extending their 
trade into the interior, had dealings with the Blackfeet, who 
were nearest to them, and supplied them with firearms. The 
Snakes, who occasionally traded with the Spaniards, endeavored, 
but in vain, to obtain similar weapons ; the Spanish traders 
wisely refused to arm them so formidably. The Blackfeet had 
now a vast advantage, and soon dispossessed the poor Snakes of 
their favorite hunting grounds, their land of plenty, and drove 
them from place to place, until they were fain to take refuge in 
the wildest and most desolate recesses of the Eocky Mountains. 
Even here they are subject to occasional visits from their im- 
placable foes, as long as they have horses, or any other property 
to tempt the plunderer. Thus by degrees the Snakes have 
become a scattered, broken-spirited, impoverished people ; keep- 
ing about lonely rivers and mountain streams, and subsisting 
chiefly upon fish. Such of them as still possess horses, and 
occasionally figure as hunters, are called Shoshonies ; but there 
is another class, the most abject and forlorn, who are called 
Shuckers, or more commonly Diggers and Boot Eaters. These 
are a shy, secret, solitary race, who keep in the most retired 
parts of the mountains, lurking like gnomes in caverns and clefts 
of the rocks, and subsistius in a sreat measure on the roots of 



258 ASTORIA. 

tlie eartli. Sometimes, in passing tlirougli a solitary mountain 
valley, the traveller comes perchance upon the bleeding carcass 
of a deer or buffalo that has just been slain. He looks round in 
vain for the hunter ; the whole landscape is lifeless and deserted: 
at length he perceives a thread of smoke, curling up from among 
the crags and cliffs, and scrambling to the place, finds some 
forlorn and skulking brood of diggers, terrified at being dis- 
covered. 

The Shoshonies, however, who, as has been observed, have 
still " horse to ride and weapon to wear," are somewhat bolder 
in their spirit, and more open and wide in their wanderings. In 
the autumn, when salmon disappear from the rivers, and hunger 
begins to pinch, they even venture down into their ancient 
hunting grounds, to make a foray among the buffaloes. In this 
perilous enterprise they are occasionally joined by the Flatheads, 
the persecutions of the Blackfeet having produced a close alliance 
and co-operation between these luckless and maltreated tribes. 
Still, notwithstanding their united force, every step they take 
within the debateable ground, is taken in fear and trembling, 
and with the utmost precaution : and an Indian trader assures 
us, that he has seen at least five hundred of them, armed and 
equipped for action, and keeping watch upon the hill tops, while 
about fifty were hunting in the prairie. Their excursions are 
brief and hurcied ; as soon as they have collected and jerked 
Bufiicient buffalo meat for winter provisions, they pack their 
horses, abandon the dangerous hunting grounds, and hasten 
back to the mountains, happy if they have not the terrible 
Blackfeet rattling after them. 

Such a confederate band of Shoshonies and Flatheads, was 
the one met by our travellers. It was bound on a visit to the 
Arapahoes, a tribe inhabiting the banks of the Nebraska. They 
were armed to the best of their scanty means, and some of the 



ENCAMPMENT ON THE MOUNTAIN 259 



Slioshonies had bucklers of buffalo hide, adorned with feathers 
and leathern fringes, and which have a charmed virtue in their 
eyes, from having been prepared, with mystic ceremonies, by their 
conjurers. 

In company with this wandering band our travellers pro- 
ceeded all day. In the evening they encamped near to each 
other in a defile of the mountains, on the borders of a stream 
running north, and falling into Big Horn River. In the vicinity 
of the camp, they found gooseberries, strawberries, and currants, 
in great abundance. The defile bore traces of having been a 
thoroughfare for countless herds of buffaloes, though not one was 
to be seen. The hunters succeeded in killing an elk and several 
black-tailed deer. 

They were now in the bosom of the second Big Horn ridge, 
with another lofty and snow- crowned mountain, full in view to 
the west. Fifteen miles of western course brought them, on the 
following day, down into an intervening plain, well stocked with 
buffalo. Here the Snakes and Flatheads joined with the white 
hunters in a successful hunt, that soon filled the camp with pro- 
visions. 

On the morning of the 9th of September, the travellers parted 
company with their Indian friends, and continued on their ?ourse 
to the west. A march of thirty miles brought them, in the even- 
ing, to the banks of a rapid and beautifully clear stream about a 
hundred yards wide. It is the north fork or branch of the Big 
Horn River, but bears its peculiar name of the Wind River, from 
being subject in the winter season to a continued blast which 
sweeps its banks and prevents the snow from lying on them. 
This blast is said to be caused by a narrow gap or funnel in the 
mountains, through which the river forces its way between per- 
pendicular precipices, resembling cut rocks. 

This river gives its name to a whole range of mountains con- 



260 ASTORIA. 

sisting of three parallel cbains, eighty miles in length, and about 
twenty or twenty-five broad. One of its peaks is probably fifteen 
thousand feet above the level of the sea, being one of the highest 
of the Rocky Sierra. These mountains give rise, not merely 
to the Wind or Big Horn River, but to several branches of the 
Yellowstone and the Missouri on the east, and of the Columbia 
and Colorado on the west ; thus dividing the sources of these 
mighty streams. 

For five succeeding days, Mr. Hunt and his party continued 
up the course of the Wind River, to the distance of about eighty 
miles, crossing and recrossing it, according to its windings, and 
the nature of its banks ; sometimes passing through valleys, at 
other times scrambling over rocks and hills. The country in 
general was destitute of trees, but they passed through groves of 
wormwood, eight and ten feet in height, which they used occa- 
sionally for fuel, and they met with large quantities of wild flax. 

The mountains were destitute of game ; they came in sight 
of two grizzly bears, but could not get near enough for a shot ; 
provisions, therefore, began to be scanty. They saw large flights 
of the kind of thrush commonly called the robin, and many 
smaller birds of migratory species ; but the hills in general ap- 
peared lonely and with few signs of animal life. On the even- 
ing of the 14th September, they encamped on the forks of the 
Wind, or Big Horn River. The largest of these forks came from 
the range of Wind River IMountains. 

The hunters who served as guides to the party in this part of 
their route, had assured Mr. Hunt that, by following up Wind 
River, and crossing a single mountain ridge, he would come upon 
the head waters of the Columbia. The scarcity of game, how- 
ever, which already had been felt to a pinching degree, and which 
threatened them with famine among the sterile heights which 
lay before them, admonished them to change their course. It 



LANDMARKS OF THE COLUMBIA. 261 



Iras determined, therefore, to make for a stream, which, they were 
informed, passed the neighboring mountains, to the south of 
west, on the grassy hanks of which it was probable they would 
meet with buffalo. Accordingly, about three o'clock on the fol- 
lowing day, meeting with a beaten Indian road which led in 
the proper direction, they struck into it, turning their backs upon 
Wind River. 

In the course of the day, they came to a height that com- 
manded an almost boundless prospect. Here one of tie guides 
paused, and, after considering the vast landscape attentively, 
pointed to three mountain peaks glistening with snow, which rose, 
he said, above a fork of Columbia River. They were hailed by 
the travellers with that joy with which a beacon on a sea-shore is 
hailed by mariners after a long and dangerous voyage. It is 
true there was many a weary league to be traversed before they 
should reach these landmarks, for, allowing for their evident 
height, and the extreme transparency of the atmosphere, they 
could not be much less than a hundred miles distant. Even 
after reaching them, there would yet remain hundreds of miles 
of their journey to be accomplished. All these matters were for- 
gotten in the joy at seeing the first landmarks of the Columbia, 
that river which formed the bourne of the expedition. These 
remarkable peaks are known to some travellers as the Tetons ; 
as they had been guiding points for many days, to Mr. Hunt, he 
gave them the name of the Pilot Knobs. 

The travellers continued their course to the south of west for 
about forty miles, through a region so elevated that patches of 
snow lay on the highest summits, and on the northern declivities 
At length they came to the desired stream, the object of their 
search, the waters of which flowed to the west. It was, in fact, 
a branch of the Colorado, which falls into the Gulf of California, 
and had received fr^^ua the hunters the name of Spanish River^ 



262 ASTORIA. 

from information given by the Iiidians, that Spaniards resided 
upon its lower waters. 

The aspect of this river and its vicinity was cheering to the 
wayworn and hungry travellers. Its banks were green, and 
there were grassy valleys running from it in various directions, 
into the heart of the rugged mountains, with herds of buffalo 
quietly grazing. The hunters sallied forth with keen alacrity, 
and soon returned laden with provisions. 

In this part of the mountains Mr. Hunt met with three dif- 
ferent kinds of gooseberries. The common purple, on a low and 
very thorny bush ; a yellow kind, of an excellent flavor, growing 
on a stock free from thorns ; and a deep pui'ple, of the size and 
taste of our winter grape, with a thorny stalk. There were also 
three kinds of currants, one very large and well tasted, of a pur 
pie color, and growing on a bush eight or nine feet high. Another 
of a yellow color, and of the size and taste of the large red cur- 
rant, the bush four or five feet high ; and the third a beautiful 
scarlet, resembling the strawberry in sweetness, though rather 
insipid, and growing on a low bush. 

On the 17th they continued down the course of the river 
making fifteen miles to the southwest. The river abounded with 
geese and ducks, and there were signs of its being inhabited by 
beaver and otters : indeed they were now approaching regions 
where these animals, the great objects of the fur trade, are said to 
abound. They encamped for the night opposite the end of a moun- 
tain in the west, which was probably the last chain of the Rocky 
Mountains. On the following morning they abandoned the main 
course of Spanish River, and taking a northwest direction for 
eight miles, came upon one of its little tributaries, issuing out of 
the bosom of the mountains, and running through green meadows, 
yielding pasturage to herds of buifalo. As these were probably 
the last of that animal they would meet with, they encamped on 



A HALT FOR REPOSE. a63 



the grassy banks of the river, determining to spend several days 
in hunting, so as to be able to jerk sufficient meat to supply them 
until they should reach the waters of the Columbia, where they 
trusted to find fish enough for their support. A little repose, 
too, was necessary for both men and horses, after their rugged 
and incessant marching ; having in the course of the last seven- 
teen days traversed two hundred and sixty miles of rough, and 
in many parts sterile, mountain country. 



2G4 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

Five days were passed by Mr. Hunt and his companions in 
the fresh meadows watered by the bright little mountain stream. 
The hunters made great havoc among the buffaloes, and brought 
in quantities of meat ; the voyageurs busied themselves about the 
fires, roasting and stewing for present purposes, or drying pro- 
visions for the journey ; the pack-horses, eased of their burdens, 
rolled on the grass, or grazed at large about the ample pastures ; 
those of the party who had no call upon their services, indulged 
in the luxury of perfect relaxation, and the camp presented a 
picture of rude feasting and revelry, of mingled bustle and re- 
pose, characteristic of a halt in a fine hunting country. In the 
course of one of their excursions, some of the men came in sight 
of a small party of Indians, who instantly fled in great apparent 
consternation. They immediately returned to camp with the 
intelligence : upon which Mr. Hunt and four others flung them- 
selves upon their horses, and sallied forth to reconnoitre. After 
riding for about eight miles, they came upon a wild mountain 
scene. A lonely green valley stretched before them, surrounded 
by rugged heights. A herd of buffalo were careering madly 
through it, with a troop of savage horsemen in full chase, plying 
them with their bows and arrows. The appearance of Mr. Hunt 
and his companions put an abrupt end to the hunt ; the buffalo 
scuttled off in one direction, while the Indians plied their lashes 
and galloped off in another, as fast as their steeds could carry 
them. Mr. Hunt gave chase ; there was a sharp scamper, though 



SHOSHONIE HUNTERS. 265 



of short continuance. Two young Indians, who were indifferently 
mounted, were soon overtaken. They were terribly frightened, 
and evidently gave themselves up for lost. By degrees their 
fears were allayed by kind treatment ; but they continued to 
regard the strangers with a mixture of awe and wonder ; for it 
was the first time in their lives they had ever seen a white 
man. 

They belonged to a party of Snakes who had come across the 
mountains on their autumnal hunting excursion to provide buffalo 
meat for the winter. Being persuaded of the peaceable inten- 
tions of Mr. Hunt and his companions, they willingly conducted 
them to their camp. It was pitched in a narrow valley on the 
margin of a stream. The tents were of dressed skins ; some of 
them fantastically painted ; with horses grazing about them. The 
approach of the party caused a transient alarm in the camp, for 
these poor Indians were ever on the look-out for cruel foes. No 
sooner, however, did they recognize the garb and complexion of 
their visitors, than their aj^prehensious were changed into joy ; 
for some of them had dealt with white men, and knew them to 
be friendly, and to abound with articles of singular value. They 
welcomed them, therefore, to their tents, set food before them ; 
and entertained them to the best of their power. 

They had been successful in their hunt, and their camp was 
full of jerked buffalo meat ; all. of the choicest kind, and ex- 
tremely fat. Mr. Hunt purchased enough of them, in addition 
to what had been killed and cured by his own hunters-, to load 
all the horses excepting those reserved for the partners and the 
wife of Pierre Dorion. He found also a few beaver skins in their 
camp, for which he paid liberally, as an inducement to them to 
hunt for more ; informing them that some of his party intended 
to live among the mountains, and trade with the native hunters 
for their peltries. The poor Snakes soon comprehended the 

12 



266 ASTORIA. 

advantages thus held out to them, and promised to exert them- 
selves to procure a quantity of beaver skins for future traffic. 

Being now well supplied with provisions, Mr. Hunt broke up 
his encampment on the 24th of September, and continued on to 
the west. A march of fifteen miles, over a mountain ridge, 
brought them to a stream about fifty feet in width, which Ho 
back, one of their guides, who had trapped about the neigh Dor- 
hood when in the service of Mr. Henry, recognized for one of 
the head waters of the Columbia. The travellers hailed it with 
delight, as the first stream they had encountered tending toward 
their point of destination. They kept along it for two days, 
during which, from the contribution of many rills and brooks, it 
gradually swelled into a small river. As it meandered among 
rocks and precipices, they were frequently obliged to ford it, and 
such was its rapidity, that the men were often in danger of being 
swept away. Sometimes the banks advanced so close upon the 
river, that they were obliged to scramble up and down their 
rugged promontories, or to skirt along their bases where there 
was scarce a foothold. Their horses had dangerous falls in some 
of these passes. One of them rolled, with his load, nearly two 
hundred feet down hill into the river, but without receiving any 
injury. At length they emerged from these stupendous defiles, 
and continued for several miles along the bank of Hoback's 
River, through one of the stern mountain valleys. Here it was 
joined by a river of greater magnitude and swifter current, and 
their united waters swept ofi" through the valley in one impetu- 
ous stream, which, from its rapidity and turbulence, had received 
the name of Mad River. At the confluence of these streams the 
travellers encamped. An important point in their arduous jour- 
ney had been attained, a few miles from their camp rose the 
three vast snowy peaks called the Tetons, or the Pilot Knobs, 
the great landmarks of the Columbia, by which they had shaped 



MAD RIVER 267 



their course through this mountain wilderness. By their feet 
flowed the rapid current of Mad River, a stream am^^Ie enough to 
admit of the navigation of canoes, and down which they might 
possibly be able to steer their course to the main body of the 
Columbia. The Canadian voyageurs rejoiced at the idea of once 
more launching themselves upon their favorite element ; of ex- 
changing their horses for canoes, and of gliding down the bosoms 
of rivers, instead of scrambling over the backs of mountains. 
Others of the party, also, inexperienced in this kind of travel- 
ling, considered their toils and troubles as drawing to a close. 
They had conquered the chief difficulties of this great rocky 
barrier, and now flattered themselves with the hope of an easy 
downward course for the rest of their journey. Little did they 
dream of the hardships and perils by land and water, which were 
yet to be encountered in the frightful wilderness that intervened 
bet.ween them and the shores of the Pacific ! 



ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XXXL 

On the banks of Mad River Mr. Hunt held a consultation with 
the other partners as to their future movements. The wild and 
impetuous current of the river rendered him doubtful whether it 
might not abound with impediments lower down, suflBcient to 
render the navigation of it slow and perilous, if not impractica- 
ble. The hunters who had acted as guides, knew nothing of the 
■character of the river below ; what rocks, and shoals, and rapids 
might obstruct it, or through what mountains and deserts it might 
pass. Should they then abandon their horses, cast themselves 
loose in fragile barks upon this wild, doubtful, and unknown 
river ; or should they continue their more toilsome and tedious, 
but perhaps more certain wayfaring by land ? 

The vote, as might have been expected, was almost unanimous 
for embarkation ; for when men are in difficulties every change 
Feems to be for the better. The difficulty now was to find timber 
of sufficient size for the construction of canoes, the trees in these 
high mountain regions being chiefly a scrubbed growth of pines 
and cedars, aspens, haws and service-berries, and a small kind of 
cotton-tree, with a leaf resembling that of the willow. There 
was a species of large fir, but so full of knots as to endanger the 
axe in hewing it. After searching for some time, a growth of 
timber, of sufficient size, was found lower down the river, where- 
upon the encampment was moved to the vicinity. 

The men were now set to work to fell trees, and the moun- 
tains echoed to the unwonted sound of their axes. While prepa- 



TRAPPERS DETACHED, 269 



rations were thus going on for a voyage down the river, Mr. Hunt, 
who still entertained doubts of its practicability, dispatched an 
exploring party, consisting of John Reed, the clerk, John Day, 
the hunter, and Pierre Dorion, the interpreter, with orders to pro- 
ceed several days' march along the stream, and notice its course 
and character. 

After their departure, Mr. Hunt turned his thoughts to ano- 
ther object of importance. He had now arrived at the head 
waters of the Columbia, which were among the main points em- 
braced by the enterprise of Mr. Astor. These upper streams 
were reputed to abound in beaver, and had as yet been unmo- 
lested by the white trapper. The numerous signs of beaver met 
with during the recent search for timber, gave evidence that the 
neighborhood was a good " trapping ground." Here then it was 
proper to -begin to cast loose those leashes of hardy trappers, that 
are detached from trading parties, in the very heart of the wilder- 
ness. The men detached in the present instance were Alexander 
Carson, Louis St. Michel, Pierre Detay', and Pierre Delaunay. 
Trappers generally go in pairs, that they may assist, protect and 
comfort each other in their lonely and perilous occupations. 
Thus Carson and St. Michel formed one couple, and Detayc and 
Delaunay another. They were fitted out with traps, arms, ammu- 
nition, horses, and every other requisite, and were to trap upon 
the upper part of Mad River, and upon the neighboring streams 
of the mountains. This would probably occupy them for some 
months ; and, when they should have collected a sufficient quan- 
tity of peltries, they were to pack them upon their horses and 
make the best of their way to the mouth of Columbia River, or 
to any intermediate post which might be established by the com- 
pany. They took leave of their comrades and started off on theii 
several courses with stout hearts, and cheerful countenances 
though these lonely cruisings into a wild and hostile wilderness 



970 ASTORIA. 

Beem to tlie uninitiated equivalent to being cast adrift in the ship's 
yawl in the midst of the ocean. 

Of the perils that attend the lonely trapper, the reader will 
have sufl&cient proof, when he comes, in the after part of this 
work, to learn the hard fortunes of these poor fellows in the course 
of their wild peregrinations. 

The trappers had not long departed, when two Snake Indians 
wandered into the camp. When they perceived that the strangers 
were fabricating canoes, they shook their heads and gave them to 
understand that the river was not navigable. Their information, 
however, was scoffed at by some of the party, who were obstinately 
bent on embarkation, but was confirmed by the exploring party, 
who returned after several days' absence. They had kept along 
the river with great difficulty for two days, and found it a narrow, 
crooked, turbulent stream, confined in a rocky channel, with 
many rapids, and occasionally overhung with precipices. From 
the summit of one of these they had caught a bird's-eye view of 
its boisterous career, for a great distance, through the heart of the 
mountain, with impending rocks and cliffs. Satisfied, from this 
view, that it was useless to follow its course either by land or 
water, they had given up all further investigation. 

These concurring reports determined Mr. Hunt to abandon 
Mad River, and seek some more navigable stream. This deter- 
mination was concurred in by all his associates excepting Mr. 
Miller, who had become impatient of the fatigue of land travel, 
and was for immediate embarkation at all hazards. This gentle- 
man had been in a gloomy and irritated state of mind for some 
time past, being troubled with a bodily malady that rendered 
travelling on horseback extremely irksome to him, and being, 
moreover, discontented with having a smaller share in the expedi- 
tion than his comrades. His unreasonable objections to a further 
march by land were overruled, and the party prepared to decamp. 



HENRY'S POST. 271 



Robinson, Hoback, and Rczner, tlie three hunters who had 
hitherto served as guides among the mountains, now stepped for- 
ward, and advised Mr. Hunt to make for the post established 
during the preceding year by Mr. Henry, of the Missouri Fur 
Company. They had been with Mr. Henry, and^ as far as they 
could judge by the neighboring landmarks, his post could not be 
very far off. They presumed there could be but one intervening 
ridge of mountains, which might be passed without any great 
difficulty. Henry's post, or fort, was on an upper branch of the 
Columbia, down which they made no doubt it would be easy to 
navigate in canoes. 

The two Snake Indians being questioned in the matter, showed 
a perfect knowledge of the situation of the post, and offered, with 
great alacrity, to guide them to the place. Their offer was ac- 
cepted, greatly to the displeasure of Mr. Miller, who seemed 
obstinately bent upon braving the perils of Mad River. 

The weather for a few days past had been stormy ; with rain 
and sleet. The Rocky Mountains are subject to tempestuous 
winds from the west ; these, sometimes, com* in flaws or cur- 
rents, making a path through the forests many yards in width, and 
whirling off trunks and branches to a great distance. The pre- 
sent storm subsided on the third of October, leaving all the sur- 
rounding heights covered with snow ; for, while rain had fallen 
in the valley, it had snowed on the hill tops. 

On the 4th, they broke up their encampment, and crossed the 
river, the water coming up to the girths of their horses. After 
travelling four miles, they encamped at the foot of the mountain, 
the last, as they hoped, which they should have to traverse. 
Four days more took them across it, and over several plains, 
watered by beautiful little streams, tributaries of Mad River. 
Near one of their encampments there was a hot spring continually 
emitting a cloud of vapor. These elevated plains, which give a 



272 ASTORIA. 

peculiar character to the mountains, are frequented Dy large gangs 
of antelopes, fleet as the wind. 

On the evening of the 8th of October, after a cold wintry 
day, with gusts of westerly wind and flurries of snow, they arrived 
at the sought-for post of Mr. Henry. Here he had fixed himself, 
after being compelled by the nostilities of the Blackfeet, to aban- 
don the upper waters of the Missouri. The post, however, was 
deserted, for Mr. Henry had left it in the course of the preceding 
spring, and, as it afterwards appeared, had fallen in with Mr. 
Lisa, at the Arickara village on the Missouri, some time after the 
separation of Mr. Hunt and his party. 

The weary travellers gladly took possession of the deserted 
log huts which had formed the post, and which stood on the bank 
of a stream upwards of a hundred yards wide, on which they in- 
tended to embark. There being plenty of suitable timber in the 
neighborhood, Mr. Hunt immediately proceeded to construct 
canoes. As he would have to leave his horses and their acco'utre- 
ments here, he determined to make this a trading post, where the 
trappers and hunters, to be distributed about the country, might 
repair ; and where the traders might touch on their way through 
the mountains to and from the establishment at the mouth of the 
Columbia. He informed the two Snake Indians of this determi- 
nation, and engaged them to remain in that neighborhood and 
take care of the horses until the white men should return, pro- 
mising them ample rewards for their fidelity. It may seem a 
desperate chance to trust to the faith and honesty of two such 
vagabonds ; but, as the horses would have, at all events, to be 
abandoned, and would otherwise become the property of the first 
vagrant horde that should encounter them, it was one chance in 
favor of their being regained. 

At this place another detachment of hunters prepared to 
Benarate from the party for the purpose of trapping beaver. 



SINGULAR RESOLUTION OF MR. MILLER. 273 



Three of tliese had already been in this neighborhood, being the 
veteran Robinson and his companions, Hoback and Rezner, who 
had accompanied Mr. Henry across the mountains, and who had 
been picked up by Mr. Hunt on the Missouri, on their way home 
to Kentucky. According to agreement they were fitted out with 
horses, traps, ammunition, and every thing requisite for their un- 
dertaking, and were to bring in all the peltries they should col- 
lect, either to this trading post, or to the establishment at the 
mouth of Columbia River. Another hunter, of the name of 
Cass, was associated with them in their enterprise. It is in this 
way that small knots of trappers and hunters are distributed 
about the wilderness by the fur companies, and like cranes and 
bitterns, haunt its solitary streams. Robinson, the Kentuckian, 
the veteran of the " bloody grouiTd," who, as has already been 
noted, had been scalped by the Indians in his younger days, was 
the leader of this little band. When they were about to depart, 
Mr. Miller called the partners together, and threw up his share 
in the company, declaring his intention of joining the party of 
trappers. 

This resolution struck every one with astonishment, Mr 
Miller being a man of education and of cultivated habits, and 
little fitted for the rude life of a hunter. Besides, the precarious 
and slender profits arising from such a life were beneath the 
prospects of one who held a share in the general enterprise. Mr. 
Hunt was especially concerned and mortified at his determina- 
tion, as it was through his advice and influence he had entered 
into the concern. He endeavored, therefore, to dissuade him 
from this sudden resolution ; representing its rashness, and the 
hardships and perils to which it would expose him. He earnestly 
advised him, however he might feel dissatisfied with the enter- 
prise, still to continue on in company until they should reach the 
mouth of Columbia River. There they would meet the expedi- 

12'' 



274 ASTORIA. 

tiou that was to come by sea ; wlien, should he still feel disposed 
to relinquish the undertaking, Mr. Hunt pledged himself to fur- 
nish him a pa&sage home in one of the vessels belonging to the 
company. 

To all this, Miller replied abruptly, that it was useless to 
argue with him, as his mind was made up. They might furnish 
him, or not, as they pleased, with the necessary supplies, but he 
was determined to part company here, and set off with the trap- 
pers. So saying, he flung out of their presence without vouch 
safing any further conversation. 

Much as this wayward conduct gave them anxiety, the part- 
ners saw it was in vain to remonstrate. Every attention was paid 
to fit him out for his headstrong undertaking. He was provided 
with four horses, and all the articles he required. The two Snakes 
undertook to conduct him and his companions to an encampment 
of their tribe, lower down among the mountains, from whom they 
would receive information as to the best trapping grounds. Af- 
ter thus guiding them, the Snakes were to return to Fort Henry, 
as the new trading post was called, and take charge of the horses 
which the j^arty would leave there, of which, after all the hunters 
were supplied, there remained seventy-seven. These matters be- 
ing all arranged, Mr. Miller set out with his companions, under 
guidance of the two Snakes, on the 10th of October; and much 
did it grieve the friends of that gentleman to see him thus wan- 
tonly casting himself loose upon savage life. How he and his 
comrades fared in the wilderness, and how the Snakes acquitted 
themselves of their trust respecting the horses, will hereafter 
appear in the course of these rambling anecdotes. 



A MENDICANT SNAKE. 275 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

While the canoes were in ^preparation, the hunters ranged about 
the neighborhood, but with little success. Tracks of buffaloes 
were to be seen in all directions, but none of a fresh date. There 
were some elk, but extremely wild ; two only were killed. An- 
telopes were likewise seen, but too shy and fleet to be approached. 
A few beavers were taken every night, and salmon trout of a 
small size, so that the camp had principally to subsist upon 
dried buffalo meat. 

On the 14th, a poor, half-naked Snake Indian, one of that 
forlorn caste called the Shuckers, or Diggers, made his appear 
ance at the camp. He came from some lurking place among the 
rocks and cliffs, and presented a picture of that famishing 
wretchedness to which these lonely fugitives among the moun- 
tains are sometimes reduced. Having received wherewithal to 
allay his hunger, he disappeared, but in the course of a day or 
two returned to the camp, bringing with him his son, a miserable 
boy, still more naked and forlorn than himself Food was given 
to both ; they skulked about the camp like hungry hounds, 
seeking what they might devour, and having gathered up the 
feet and entrails of some beavers that were lying about, slunk off 
with them to their den among the rocks. 

By the ISth of October, fifteen canoes were completed, and 
on the following day the party embarked with their effects ; 
leaving their horses grazing about the banks, and trusting to the 



27G ASTORIA. 

honesty of the two Snakes, and some special turn of good luck 
for their future recovery. 

The current bore them along at a rapid rate ; the light spirits 
of the Canadian voyageurs, which had occasionally flagged upon 
land, rose to their accustomed buoj^ancy on finding themselves 
again upon the water. They wielded their paddles with their 
wonted dexterity, and for the first time made the mountains 
echo with their favorite boat songs. 

In the course of the day the little squadron arrived at the 
confluence of Henry and Mad Rivers, which, thus united, swelled 
into a beautiful stream of a light pea-green color, navigable for 
boats of any size, and which, from the place of junction, took the 
name of Snake E-iver, a stream doomed to be the scene of much 
disaster to the travellers. The banks were here and there 
fringed with willow thickets and small cotton-wood trees. The 
weather was cold, and it snowed all day, and great flocks of 
ducks and geese, sporting in the water or streaming through the 
air, gave token that winter was at hand ; yet the hearts of the 
travellers were light, and, as they glided down the little river, 
they flattered themselves with the hope of soon reaching the 
Columbia. After making thirty miles in a southerly direction, 
they encamped for the night in a neighborhood which required 
some little vigilance, as there were recent traces of grizzly bears 
among the thickets. 

On the following day the river increased in width and 
beauty ; flowing parallel to a range of mountains on the left, 
which at times were finely reflected in its light green waters. 
The three snowy summits of the Pilot Knobs or Tetons, were 
still seen towering in the distance. After pursuing a swift but 
placid course for twenty miles, the current began to foam and 
brawl, and assume the wild and broken character common to the 
streams west of the Rocky Mountains. In fact the rivers which 



THE BEGINNING OF TROUBLES. 277 



flow from those mountains to the Pacific, are essentially different 
from those which traverse the great prairies on their eastern de- 
clivities. The latter, though sometimes boisterous, are generally 
free from obstructions, and easily navigated ; but the rivers to 
the west of the mountains descend more steeply and impetuously, 
and are continually liable to cascades and rapids. The latter 
abounded in the part of the river which the travellers were now 
descending. Two of the canoes filled among the breakers ; the 
crews were saved, but much of the lading was lost or damaged, 
and one of the canoes drifted down the stream and was broken 
among the rocks. 

On the following day, October 21st, they made but a short 
distance when they came to a dangerous strait, where the river 
was compressed for nearly half a mile between perpendicular 
rocks, reducing it to the width of twenty yards, and increasing 
its violence. Here they were obliged to pass the canoes down 
cautiously by a line from the impending banks. This consumed 
a great part of a day ; and after they had re-embarked they were 
soon again impeded by rapids, when they had to unload their 
canoes and carry them and their cargoes for some distance by 
land. It is at these places, called " portages," that the Cana- 
dian voyageur exhibits his most valuable qualities ; carrying 
heavy burdens, and toiling to and fro, on land and in the water, 
over rocks and precipices, among brakes and brambles, not only 
without a murmur, but with the greatest cheerfulness and alac- 
rity, joking and laughing and singing scraps of old French 
ditties. 

The spirits of the party, however, which had been elated on 
first varying their journeying from land to water, had now lost 
Bome of their buoyancy. Every thing ahead was wrapped in un- 
certainty. They knew nothing of the river on which they were 
floating. It had never been navigated by a white man, nor could 



278 ASTORIA, 

they meet with an Indian to give them any information concern- 
ing it. It kept on its course through a vast wilderness of silent 
and apparently uninhabited mountains, without a savage wigwam 
upon its banks, or bark upon its waters. The difl&culties and 
perils they had already passed, made them apprehend others be- 
fore them, that might effectually bar their progress. As they 
glided onward, however, they regained heart and hope. The cur- 
rent continued to be strong ; but it was steady, and though they 
met with frequent rapids, none of them were bad. Mountains 
were constantly to be seen in different directions, but sometimes 
the swift river glided through prairies, and was bordered by small 
cotton-wood trees and willows. These prairies at certain seasons 
are ranged by migratory herds of the wide-wandering buffalo, 
the tracks of which, though not of recent date, were frequently 
to be seen. Plere, too, were to be found the prickly pear or In- 
dian fig, a plant which loves a more southern climate. On the 
land were large flights of magpies, and American robins ; whole 
fleets of ducks and geese navigated the river, or flew off in long 
streaming files at the approach of the canoes ; while the frequent 
establishments of the painstaking and quiet-loving beaver, show- 
ed that the solitude of these waters was rarely disturbed, even 
by the all-pervading savage. 

They had now come near two hundred and eighty miles since 
leaving Fort Henry, yet without seeing a human being, or a 
human habitation ; a wild and desert solitude extended on either 
side of the river, aj)parently almost destitute of animal life. At 
longth, on the 24th of October, they were gladdened by the sight 
of some savage tents, and hastened to land and visit them, for 
they were anxious to procure information to guide them on theii 
route. On their approach, however, the savages fled in conster 
nation. They proved to be a wandering band of Shoshonies. In 
their tents were great cpantities of small fish about two inches 



SHOSHONIE TENTS. 279 



long, together witli roots and seeds, or grain, which they were 
drying for winter provisions. Tliey appeared to be destitute of 
tools of any kind, yet there were bows and arrows very well 
made ; the former were formed of pine, cedar, or bone, strength- 
ened by sinews, and the latter of the wood of rose-bushes, and 
other crooked plants, but carefully straightened, and tipped with 
stone of a bottle-green color. 

There were also vessels of willow and grass, so closely wrought 
as to hold water, and a seine neatly made with meshes, in the 
ordinary manner, of the fibres of wild flax or nettle. The humble 
effects of the poor savages remained unmolested by their visitors, 
and a few small articles, with a knife or two, were left in the 
camp, and were no doubt regarded as invaluable prizes. 

Shortly after leaving this deserted camp, and re-embarking 
in the canoes, the travellers met with three of the Snakes on a 
triangular raft made of flags or reeds ; such was their rude mode 
of navigating the river. They were entirely naked excepting 
small mantles of hare skins over their shoulders. The canoes 
approached near enough to gain a full view of them, but they 
were not to be brought to a parley. 

All further progress for the day was barred by a fall in the 
river of about thirty feet perpendicular ; at the head of which 
the party encamped for the night. 

The next day was one of excessive toil and but little pro- 
gress : the river winding through a wild rocky country, and being 
interrupted by frequent rapids, among which the canoes were in 
great peril. On the succeeding day they again visited a camp 
of wandering Snakes, but the inhabitants fled with terror at the 
sight of a fleet of canoes, filled with white men, coming down 
their solitary river. 

As Mr. Hunt was extremely anxious to gain information con- 
cerning his rente, he endeavored by all kinds of friendly signs 



280 ASTORIA. 



to entice back the fugitives. At length one, who was on horse 
back, ventured back with feai' and trembling. He was better 
clad, and in better condition, than most of his vagrant tribe that 
Mr. Hunt had yet seen. The chief object of his return appeared 
to be to intercede for a quantity of dried meat and salmon trout, 
■which he had left behind ; on which, probably, he depended for 
his winter's subsistence. The poor wretch approached with hesi- 
tation, the alternate dread of famine and of white men operating 
upon his mind. He made the most abject signs, imploring Mr. 
Hunt not to carry off his food. The latter tried in every way to 
reassure him, and offered him knives in exchange for his pro- 
visions ; great as was the temptation, the poor Snake could only 
prevail upon himself to spare a part ; keeping a feverish watch 
over the rest, lest it should be taken away. It was in vain Mr. 
Hunt made inquiries of him concerning his route, and the course 
of the river. The Indian was too much frightened and bewil- 
dered to comprehend him or to reply ; he did nothing but alter- 
nately commend himself to the protection of the Good Spirit, and 
supplicate Mr. Hunt not to take away his fish and buffalo meat ; 
and in this state they left him, trembling about his treasures. 

In the course of that and the next day they made nearly eight 
miles ; the river inclining to the south of west, and being clear 
and ueautiful, nearly half a mile m width, with many populous 
communities of the beaver along its banks. The 28th of Octo- 
ber, however, was a day of disaster. The river again became 
rough and impetuous, and was chafed and broken by numerous 
rapids. These gi*ew more and more dangerous, and the utmost 
skill was required to steer among them. Mr. Crooks was seated 
in the second canoe of the squadron, and had an old experienced 
Canadian for steersman, named Antoine Clappine, one of the 
most valuable of the voyageurs. The leading canoe had glided 
safely among the turbulent and roaring surges, but in following 



THE CALDRON LINN. 281 



it, Mr. Crooks perceived tliat his canoe was bearing towards a 
rock. He called out to the steersman, but his warning voice was 
either unheard or unheeded. In the nest moment they struck 
upon the rock. The canoe was split and overturned. There 
were five persons on board. Mr. Crooks and one of his compan- 
ions were thrown amidst roaring breakers and a whirling current, 
but succeeded, by strong swimming, to reach the shore. Clappine 
and two others dung to the shattered bark, and drifted with it 
to a rock. The wreck struck the rock with one end, and swing- 
ing round, flung poor Clappine off into the raging stream, which 
swept him away, and he perished. His comrades succeeded in 
getting upon the rock, from whence they were afterwards taken off. 
This disastrous event brought the whole squadron to a halt, 
and struck a chill into every bosom. Indeed, they had arrived 
at a terrific strait, that forbade all further progress in the canoes, 
and dismayed the most experienced voyageur. The whole body 
of the river was compressed into a space of less than thirty feet 
in width, between two ledges of rocks, upwards of two hundred 
feet high, and formed a whirling and tumultuous vortex, so fright- 
fully agitated, as to receive the name of " The Caldron Linn." 
Beyond this fearful abyss, the river kept raging and roaring on, 
until lost to sigh t among impending precipices. 



282 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Me. Hunt and his companions encamped upon the borders of the 
Caldron Linn, and held gloomy counsel as to their future course. 
The recent wreck had dismayed even the voyageurs, and the fate 
of their popular comrade, Clappine, one of the most adroit and 
experienced of their fraternity, had struck sorrow to their hearts, 
for, with all their levity, these thoughtless beings have great kind- 
ness towards each other. 

The whole distance they had navigated since leaving Henry's 
Fort, was computed to be about three hundred and forty miles ; 
strong apprehensions were now entertained that the tremendous 
impediments before them would oblige them to abandon their 
canoes. It was determined to send exploring parties on each 
side of the river to ascertain whether it was possible to navigate 
it further. Accordingly, on the following morning, three men 
were dispatched along the south bank, while Mr. Hunt and three 
others, proceeded along the north. The two parties returned 
after a weary scramble among swamps, rocks, and precipices, and 
with very disheartening accounts. For nearly forty miles that 
they had explored, the river foamed and roared along through a 
deep and narrow channel, from twenty to thirty yards wide, which 
it had worn, in the course of ages, through the heart of a barren 
rocky country. The precipices on each side, were often two and 
three hundred feet high, sometimes perpendicular, and sometimes 
overhanging, so that it was impossible, excepting in one or two 
places, to get down to the margin of the stream. This dreary strait 



DANGERS AND DIFFICULTIES. 283 



was rendered the more dangerous by frequent rapids, and occasion- 
ally perpendicular falls from ten to forty feet in height ; so that it 
seemed almost hopeless to attempt to pass the canoes down it. 
The party, however, who had explored the south side of the 
river had found a place, about six miles from the camp, where 
they thought it possible the canoes might be carried down the 
bank and launched upon the stream, and from whence they might 
make their way with the aid of occasional portages. Four of the 
best canoes were accordingly selected for the experiment, and 
were transported to the place on the shoulders of sixteen of the 
men. At the same time, Mr. Reed the clerk, and three men, 
were detached to explore the river still further down than the 
previous scouting parties had been, and at the same time to look 
out for Indians, from whom provisions might be obtained, and a 
supply of horses, should it be found necessary to proceed by land. 

The party who had been sent with the canoes returned on the 
following da}-, weary and dejected. One of the canoes had been 
swept away with all the weapons and effects of four of the voy- 
ageurs, in attempting to pass it down a rapid by means of a line. 
The other three had stuck fast among the rocks, so that it was 
impossible to move them ; the men returned, therefore, in despair, 
and declared the river unnavigable. 

The situation of the unfortunate travellers was now gloomy 
in the extreme. They were in the heart of an unknown wilder- 
ness, untraversed as yet by a white man. They were at a loss 
what route to take, and how far they were from the ultimate 
place of their destination, nor could they meet, in these uninhab- 
ited wilds, with any human being to give them information. The 
repeated accidents to their canoes, had reduced their stock of 
provisions to five days' allowance, and there was now every appear- 
ance of soon having famine added to their other sufferings. 

This last circumstance rendered it more perilous to keep 



284 ASTORIA. 

together tlian to separate. Accordingly, after a little anxious 
but bewildered counsel, it was determined that several small 
detachments should start off in different directions, headed by 
the several partners. Should any of them succeed in falling in 
with friendly Indians, within a reasonable distance, and obtain- 
ing a supply of provisions and horses, they were to return to the 
aid of the main body: otherwise, they were to shift for them 
selves, and shape their course according to circumstances ; keep- 
ing the mouth of the Columbia River as the ultimate point of 
their wayfaring. Accordingly, three several parties set off from 
the camp at Caldron Linn, in opposite directions. Mr. M'Lel 
Ian, with three men, kept down along the bank of the river. Mr 
Crooks, with five others, turned their steps up it ; retracing by 
land the weary course they had made by water, intending, should 
they not find relief nearer at hand, to keep on until they should 
reach Henry's Fort, where they hoped to find the horses they 
had left there, and to return with them to the main body. 

The third party, composed of five men, was headed by Mr. 
M'Kenzie, who struck to the northward, across the desert plains, 
in hopes of coming upon the main stream of the Columbia. 

Having seen these three adventurous bands depart upon their 
forlorn expeditions, Mr. Hunt turned his thoughts to provide for 
the subsistence of the main body left to his charge, and to pre- 
pare for their future march. There remained with him thirty- 
one men, beside the squaw and two children of Pierre Dorion. 
There was no game to be met with in the neighborhood ; but 
beavers were occasionally trapped about the river banks, which 
afforded a scanty supply of food ; in the meantime they com- 
forted themselves that some one or other of the foraging detach- 
ments would be successful, and return with relief 

Mr. Hunt now set to work with all diligence, to prepare 
caclies, in which to deposit the baggage and merchandise, of which 



A CACHE. 285 

it would be necessary to disburden themselves, preparatory to 
tlieir weary march by land and here we shall give a brief de- 
scription of those contrivances, so noted in the wilderness. 

A cache is a term common among traders and hunters, to 
designate a hiding place for provisions and effects. It is derived 
from the French word caclicr^ to conceal, and originated among 
the early colonists of Canada and Louisiana ; but the secret 
depcsitory which it designates was in use among the aboriginals 
long before the intrusion of the white men. It is, in fact, the 
only mode that migratory hordes have of preserving their valua- 
bles from robbery, during their long absences from their villages 
or accustomed haunts, on hunting expeditions, or during the 
vicissitudes of war. The utmost skill and caution are required 
to render these places of concealment invisible to the lyns' eye of 
an Indian. The first care is to seek out a proper situation, which 
is generally some dry low bank of clay, on the margin of a water 
course. As soon as the precise spot is pitched upon, blankets, 
saddle-cloths, and other coverings, are spread over the surround- 
ing grass and bushes, to prevent foot tracks, or any other derange- 
ment ; and as few hands as possible are employed. A circle of 
about two feet in diameter is then nicely cut in the sod, which is 
carefully removed, with the loose soil immediately beneath it, 
and laid aside in a place where it will be safe from any thing that 
may change its appearance. The uncovered area is then digged 
perpendicularly to the depth of about three feet, and is then 
gradually widened so as to form a conical chamber six or seven 
feet deep. The whole of the earth displaced by this process, 
being of a different color from that on the surface, is handed up 
in a vessel, and heaped into a skin or cloth, in which it is con- 
veyed to the stream and thrown into the midst of the current, 
that it may be entirely (iarried off. Should the cache not be 
formed in the vicinity of a stream, the earth thus thrown up is 



286 ASTORIA. 

carried to a distance, and scattered in sucli manner as not to 
leave the minutest trace. The cave being formed, is well lined 
with dry grass, bark, sticks, and poles, and occasionally a dried 
hide. The property intended to be hidden is then laid in, after 
having been well aired : a hide is spread over it, and dried grass, 
brush, and stones thrown in, and trampled down until the pit is 
filled to the neck. The loose soil which had been put aside is 
then brought, and rammed down firmly, to prevent its caving in, 
and is frequently sprinkled with water, to destroy the scent, lest 
the wolves and bears should be attracted to the place, and root 
up the concealed treasure. When the neck of the cache is nearly 
level with the surrounding surface, the sod is again fitted in with 
the utmost exactness, and any bushes, stocks, or stones, that may 
have originally been about the spot, are restored to their former 
places. The blankets and other coverings are then removed from 
the surrounding herbage : all tracks are obliterated : the grass 
is gently raised by the hand to its natural position, and the 
minutest chip or straw is scrupulously gleaned up and thrown 
into the stream. After all is done, the place is abandoned for 
the night, and, if all be right next morning, is not visited again, 
until there be a necessity for reopening the cache. Four men 
are sufiicient, in this way, to conceal the amount of three tons 
weight if merchandise in the course of two days. Nine caches 
were required to contain the goods and baggage which Mr. Hunt 
found it necessary to leave at this place. 

Three days had been thus employed since the departure of 
the several detachments, when that of Mr. Crooks unexpectedly 
made its appearance. A momentary joy was diffused through the 
camp, for they supposed succor to be at hand. It was soon dis- 
pelled. Mr. Crooks and his companions had become completely 
disheartened by this retrograde march through a bleak and barren 
country ; and had found, computing from their progress and the 



THE DEVIL'S SCUTTLE HOLE. 287 



accumulating difficulties besetting every step, that it would be 
impossible to reach Henry's Fort, and return to the main body in 
the course of the winter. They had determined, therefore, to 
rejoin their comrades, and share their lot. 

One avenue of hope was thus closed upon the anxious sojourn- 
ers at the Caldron Linn ; their main expectation of relief was 
now from the two parties under Reed and M'Lellan, which had 
proceeded down the river ; for, as to Mr. M'Kenzie's detachment, 
which had struck across the plains, they thought it would have 
sufficient difficulty in struggling forward through the trackless 
wilderness. For five days they continued to svipport themselves 
by trapping and fishing. Some fish of tolerable size were speared 
at night by the light of cedar torches ; others that were very 
small, were caught in nets with fine meshes. The product of their 
fishing, however, was very scanty. Their trapping was also pre- 
carious ; and the tails and bellies of the beavers were dried and 
put by for the journey. 

At length, two of the companions of Mr. Reed returned, and 
were hailed with the most anxious eagerness. Their report 
served but to increase the general despondency. They had fol- 
lowed Mr. Reed for some distance below the point to which Mr. 
Hunt had explored, but had met with no Indians, from whom to 
obtain information and relief The river still presented the same 
furious aspect, brawling and boiling along a narrow and rugged 
channel, between rocks that rose like walls. 

A lingering hope, which had been indulged by some of the 
party, of proceeding by water, was now finally given up : the 
long and terrific strait of the river set all further progress at 
defiance, and in their disgust at the place, and their vexation at 
the disasters sustained there, they gave it the indignant, though 
not very decorous appellation, of the Devil's Scuttle Hole. 



288 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

The resolution of Mr. Hunt and his companions was now taken 
to set out immediately on foot. As to the other detachments 
that had in a manner gone forth to seek their fortunes, there was 
little chance of their return ; they would probably make their 
own way through the wilderness. At any rate, to linger in the 
vague hope of relief from them, would be to run the risk of 
perishing with hunger. Besides, the winter was rapidly ad- 
vancing, and they had a long journey to make through an un- 
known country, where all kinds of perils might await them. 
They were yet, in fact, a thousand miles from Astoria, but the 
distance was unknown to them at the time : every thing before 
and around them was vague and conjectural, and wore an aspect 
calculated to inspire despondency. 

In abandoning the river, they would have to launch forth 
upon vast trackless plains destitute of all means of subsistence, 
where they might perish of hunger and thirst. A dreary desert 
of sand and gravel extends from Snake River almost to the 
G^jlumbia. Here and there is a thin and scanty herbage, insuffi 
cient for the pasturage of horse or buffalo. Indeed these tree- 
less wastes between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific, are 
even more desolate and barren than the naked, upper prairies on 
the Atlantic side ; they present vast desert tracts that must ever 
defy cultivation, and interpose dreai-y and thirsty wilds between 
the habitations of man, in traversing which, the wanderer will 
often be in danger of perishing. 



PREPARATIONS FOR A MARCH. 289 



Seeing the hopeless character of these wastes, Mr. Hunt and 
his companions determined to keep along the course of the river 
where they would always have water at hand, and would be able 
occasionally to procure fish, and beaver, and might perchance 
meet with Indians, from whom they could obtain provisions. 

They now made their final preparations for the march. All 
their remaining stock of provisions consisted of forty pounds of 
Indian corn, twenty pounds of grease, about five pounds of 
portable soup, and a sufficient quantity of dried meat to allow 
each man a pittance of five pounds and a quarter, to be reserved 
for emergencies. This being properly distributed, they deposited 
all their goods and superfluous articles in the caches, taking 
nothing with them but what was indispensable to the journey. 
With all their management, each man had to carry twenty 
pounds' weight beside his own articles and equipments. 

That they might have the better chance of procuring subsist- 
ence in the scanty regions they were to traverse, they divided 
their party into two bands, IMr. Hunt, with eighteen men, beside 
Pierre Dorion and his family, was to proceed down the north 
side of the river, while Mr. Crooks, with eighteen men, kept 
along the south side. 

On the morning of the 9th of October, the two parties sepa- 
rated and set forth on their several courses. Mr. Hunt and his 
companions followed along the right bank of the river, which 
made its way far below them, brawling at the foot of perpen- 
dicular precipices of solid rock, two and three hundred feet high. 
For twenty-eight miles that they travelled this day, they found 
it impossible to get down to the margin of the stream. At the 
end of this distance they encamped for the night at a place 
which admitted a scrambling descent. It was with the greatest 
difficulty, however, that they succeeded in getting up a kettle of 
water from the river for the use of the camp. As some rain had 

13 



290 ASTORIA. 

fallen in the afternoon, tliey passed the night under the shelter 
of the rocks. 

The nest day they continued thirty-two miles to the north- 
west, keeping along the river, which still ran in its deep cut 
channel. Here and there a sandy beach or a narrow strip of 
soil, fringed with dwarf willows, would extend for a little distance 
along the foot of the cliffs, and sometimes a reach of still water 
would intervene like a smooth mirror between the foaming rapids. 

As through the preceding day, they journeyed on without 
finding, except in one instance, any place where they could get 
down to the river's edge, and they were fain to allay the thirst 
caused by hard travelling, with the water collected in the hollow 
of the rocks. 

In the course of their march on the following morning, they 
fell into a beaten horse path leading along the river, which 
showed that they were in the neighborhood of some Indian 
village or encampment. They had not proceeded far along it, 
when they met with two Shoshonies, or Snakes. They approached 
with some appearance of uneasiness, and accosting Mr. Hunt, 
held up a knife, which by signs they let him know they had re- 
ceived from some of the white men of the advance parties. It 
was with some difficulty that Mi*. Hunt prevailed upon one of 
the savages to conduct him to the lodges of his people. Striking 
into a trail or path which led uj) from the river, he guided them 
for some d4Stance in the prairie, until they came in sight of a 
number of lodges made of straw, and shaped like hay stacks. 
Their approach, as on former occasions, caused the wildest 
affright among the inhabitants. The women hid such of their 
children as were too large to be carried, and too small to take 
care of themselves, under straw, and, clasping their infants to 
their breasts, fled across the prairie. The men awaited the 
approach of the strangers, but evidently in great alarm. 



SHOSHONIE LODGES. 29J 



Mr. Hunt eutercd the lodges, and, as he was looking about, 
observed where the children were concealed ; their black eyes 
glistening like those of snakes, from beneath the straw. He 
lifted up the covering to look at them ; the poor little beings were 
horribly frightened, and their fathers fctood trembling, as if a 
beast of prey were about to pounce upon the brood. 

The friendly manner of Mr. Hunt soon dispelled these ap- 
prehensions ; he succeeded in pui'chasing some excellent dried 
salmon, and a dog, an animal much esteemed as food, by the na- 
tives ; and when he returned to the river one of the Indians ac- 
companied him. He now came to where lodges were frequent 
along the banks, and, after a day's journey of twenty-six miles to 
the northwest, encamped in a populous neighborhood. Forty or 
fifty of the natives soon visited the camp, conducting themselves 
in a very amicabla manner. They were well clad, and all had 
buffalo robes, which they procured from some of the hunting 
tribes in exchange for salmon. Their habitations were very com- 
fortable ; each had its pile of wormwood at the door for fuel, and 
within was abundance of salmon, some fresh, but the greater part 
cured. When the white men visited the lodges, however, the wo- 
men and children hid themselves through fear. Among the sup- 
plies obtained here were two dogs, on which our travellers break- 
fasted, and found them to be very excellent, well-flavored, and 
hearty food. 

In the course of the three following days they made about 
sixty-three miles, generally in a northwest direction. They met 
with many of the natives in their straw-built cabins who received 
them without alarm. About their dwellings were immense quan- 
tities of the heads and skins of salmon, the best part of which 
had been cured, and hidden in the ground. The women were 
badly clad ; the children worse ; their garments were buffalo robes, 
OP the skins of foxes, wolves, hares, and badgers, and sometimes 



292 ASTORIA. 

the skins of ducks, sewed together, with the plumage on. Most 
of the skins must have been procured by traffic with other tribes, 
or in distant hunting excursions, for the naked prairies in the 
neighborhood afforded few animals, excepting horses, which were 
abundant. There were signs of buffaloes having been there, but 
a long time before. 

On the 15th of November they made twenty-eight miles along 
the river, which was entirely free from rapids. The shores were 
lined with dead salmon, which tainted the whole atmosphere. 
The natives whom they met spoke of Mr. Reed's party having 
passed through that neighborhood. In the course of the day 
Mr. Hunt saw a few horses, but the owners of them took care to 
hurry them out of the way. All the provisions they were able 
to procure, were two dogs and a salmon. On the following day 
they were still worse off, having to subsist on parched corn, and 
the remains of their dried meat. The river this day had resumed 
its turbulent character, forcing its way through a narrow channel 
between steep rocks, and down violent rapids. They made twenty 
miles over a rugged road, gradually approaching a mountain in 
the northwest, covered with snow, which had been in sight for 
three days past. 

On the 17th they met with several Indians, one of whom had 
a horse. Mr. Hunt was extremely desirous of obtaining it as a 
pack-horse ; for the men, worn down by fatigue and hunger, 
found the loads of twenty pounds' weight which they had to 
carry, daily growing heavier and more galling. The Indians, 
however, along this river, were never willing to part with their 
horses, having none to spare. The owner of the steed in ques 
tion seemed proof against all temptation ; article after article of 
great value in Indian eyes was offered and refused. The charms 
of an old tin-kettle, however, were irresistible, and a bargain waa 
concluded. 



SUFFERINGS FROM THIRST. 293 

A great part of the following morning was consumed in light- 
ening the packages of the men and arranging the load for the 
horse. At this encampment there was no wood for fuel, even the 
wormwood on which they had frequently depended, having disap- 
peared. For the two last days they had made thirty miles to the 
northwest. 

On the 19th of November, Mr. Hunt was lucky enough to 
purchase another horse for his own use, giving in exchange a 
tomahawk, a knife, a fire steel, and some beads and gartering. 
In an evil hour, however, he took the advice of the Indians to 
abandon the river, and follow a road or trail, leading into the 
prairies. He soon had cause to repent the change. The road 
led across a dreary waste, without verdure ; and where there was 
neither fountain, nor pool, nor running stream. The men now 
began to experience the torments of thirst, aggravated by their 
usual diet of dried fish. The thirst of the Canadian voyageurs 
became so insupportable as to drive them to the most revolting 
means of allaying it. For twenty-five miles did they toil on 
across this dismal desert, and laid themselves down at night, 
parched and disconsolate, beside their wormwood fires ; looking 
forward to still greater sufferings on the following day. Fortu- 
nately it began to rain in the night, to their infinite relief ; the 
water soon collected in puddles and afi"orded them delicious 
draughts. 

Refreshed in this manner, they resumed their wayfaring as 
soon as the first streaks of dawn gave light enough for them to 
see their path. The rain continued all day so that they no longer 
suifered from thirst, but hunger took its place, for, after travel- 
ling thirty-three miles they had nothing to sup on but a little 
parched corn. 

The next day brought them to the banks of a beautiful little 
stream, running to the west, and fringed with groves of cotton^ 



294 ASTORIA. 

wood and willow. On its borders was an Indian camp, with a 
great many horses grazing around it. The inhabitants, too, ap- 
peared to be better clad than usual. The scene was altogether 
a cheering one to the poor half-famished wanderers. They has- 
tened to the lodges, but on arriving at them, met with a check 
that at first dampened their cheerfulness. An Indian immedi- 
ately laid claim to the horse of Mr. Hunt, saying that it had 
been stolen from him. There was no disproving a fact, supported 
by numerous bystanders, and which the horse-stealing habits of 
the Indians rendered but too probable ; so Mr. Hunt relinquished 
hi'S steed to the claimant ; not being able to retain him by a second 
purchase. 

At this place they encamped for the night, and made a sump- 
tuous repast upon fish and a couple of dogs, procured from their 
Indian neighbors. The next day they kept along the river, but 
came to a halt after ten miles' march, on account of the rain. 
Here they again got a supply of fish and dogs from the natives ; 
and two of the men were fortunate enough each to get a horse in 
exchange for a buffalo robe. One of these men was Pierre Dorion, 
the half-breed interpreter, to whose suffering family the horse was 
a most timely acquisition. And here we cannot but notice the 
wonderful patience, perseverance, and hardihood of the Indian 
w^omen, as exemplified in the conduct of the poor squaw of the 
interpreter. She was now far advanced in her pregnancy, and 
had two children to take care of; one four, and the other two 
years of age. The latter of course she had frequently to carry 
on her back, in addition to the burden usually imposed upon the 
squaw, yet she had borne all her hardships without a murmur, 
and throughout this weary and painful journey had kept pace 
with the best of the pedestrians. Indeed on various occasions in 
the course of this enterprise, she displayed a force of character 
that won the respect and applause of the white men. 



SCARCITY OF FOOD. 295 



Mr. Hunt endeavored to gather some information from these 
Indians concerning the country, and the course of the rivers. 
His communications with them had to be by signs, and a few 
words which he had learnt, and of course were extremely vague. 
All that he could learn from them was, that the great river, the 
Columbia, v/as still far distant, but he could ascertain nothing as 
to the route he ought to take to arrive at it. For the two follow- 
ing days they continued westward uj) wards of forty miles along 
the little stream, until they crossed it just before its junction 
with Snake River, which they found still running to the north. 
Before them was a wintry-looking mountain covered with snow 
on all sides. 

In three days more they made about seventy miles ; fording 
two small rivers, the waters of which were very cold. Provisions 
were extremely scarce ; their chief sustenance was portable soup ; 
a meagre diet for weary pedestrians. 

On the 27th of November the river led them into the moun- 
tains through a rocky defile where there was scarcely room to 
pass. They were frequently obliged to unload the horses to get 
them by the narrow places ; and sometimes to wade through the 
water in getting round rocks and butting cliffs. All their food 
this day was a beaver which they had caught the night before ; by 
evening, the cravings of hunger were so sharp, and the prospect 
of any supply among the mountains so faint, that they had to kill 
one of the horses. " The men," says Mr. Hunt in his journal, 
" find the meat very good, and indeed, so should I, were it not for 
the attachment I have to the animal." 

Early in the following day, after proceeding ten miles to the 
north, they came to two lodges of Shoshonies, who seemed in 
nearly as great an extremity as themselves, having just killed two 
horses for food. They had no other provisions excepting the seed 
of a weed which they gather in great quantities, and pound fine. 



296 ASTORIA. 

It resembles hemp-seed. Mr. Hunt purchased a bag of it, and 
also some small pieces of horse flesh, which he began to relish^ 
pronouncing them " fat and tender." 

From these Indians he received information that several 
white men had gone down the river, some one side, and a good 
many on the other ; these last he concluded to be Mr. Crooks 
and his party. He was thus released from much anxiety about 
their safety, especially as the Indians spoke of Mr. Crooks 
having one of his dogs yet, which showed that he and his men had 
not been reduced to extremity of hunger. 

As Mr. Plunt feared that he might be several days in jiassing 
through this mountain defile, and run the risk of famine, he en- 
camped in the neighborhood of the Indians, for the piirpose of 
bartering with them for a horse. The evening was expended in 
ineflPectual trials. He oiFered a gun, a buffalo robe, and various 
other articles. The poor fellows had, probably, like himself, the 
fear of starvation before their eyes. At length the women, learn- 
ing the object of his pressing solicitations, and tempting offers, 
set up such a terrible hue and cry, that he was fairly howled and 
scolded from the ground. 

The next morning early, the Indians seemed very desirous to 
get rid of their visitors, fearing, probably, for the safety of their 
horses. In reply to Mr. Hunt's inquiries about the mountains, 
they told him that he would have to sleep but three nights more 
among them ; and that six days' travelling would take him to the 
falls of the Columbia ; information in which he put no faith, be- 
lieving it was only given to induce him to set forward. These, 
he was told, were the last Snakes he would meet with, and that 
he would soon come to a nation called Sciatogas. 

Forward then did he proceed on his tedious journey, which, 
at every step grew ni ore painful. The road continued for two 
days, through narrow iefiles, where they were repeatedly obliged 



TOILSOME PROGRESS. 297 



to Ainload the horses. Sometimes the river passed through such 
rocky chasms and under such steep precipices that thej had to 
leave it, and make their way, with excessive labor, over immense 
hills, almost impassable for horses. On some of these hills were 
a few pine trees, and their summits were covered with snow. Oa 
the second day of this scramble one of the hunters killed a black- 
tailed deer, which aiforded the half-starved travellers a sump- 
tuous repast. Their progress these two days was twenty eight 
miles, a little to the northward of east. 

The month of December set in drearily, with rain in the val- 
leys, and snow upon the hills. They had to climb a mountain 
with snow to the midleg, which increased their painful toil. A 
small beaver supplied them with a scanty meal, which they eked 
out with frozen blackberries, haws, and ch&ke-cherries, which 
they found in the course of their scramble. Their journey this 
day, though excessively fatiguing, was but thirteen miles ; and 
all the next day they had to remain encamped, not being able to 
see half a mile ahead, on account of a snow-storm. Having 
nothing else to eat, they were compelled to kill another of their 
horses. The nest day they resumed tlieir march in snow and 
rain, but with all their efforts could only get forward nine miles, 
having for a part of the distance to unload the horses and carry 
the packs themselves. On the succeeding morning they were 
obliged to leave the river, and scramble up the hills. From the 
summit of these, they got a wide view of the surrounding coun- 
try, and it was a prospect almost sufficient to make them despair. 
In every direction they beheld snowy mountains, partially 
sprinkled with pines and other evergreens, and spreading a desert 
and toilsome world around them. The wind howled over the 
bleak and wintry landscape, and seemed to penetrate to the mar- 
row of their bones. They waded on through the snow, which at 
evei'y step was more than knee deep. 

13* 



^8 ASTORIA. 

After toiling in this way all day, they had the mortification 
to find that ihey were but four miles distant from the encamp- 
ment of the j^receding night, such was the meandering of the 
river among these dismal hills. Pinched with famine, exhausted 
with fatigue, with evening approaching, and a wintry wild still 
lengthening as they advanced ; they began to look forward with 
sad forebodings to the night's exposure upon this frightful waste. 
Fortunately they succeeded in reaching a cluster of pines about 
Bunset. Their axes were immediately at work ; they cut down 
trees, piled them up in great heaps, and soon had huge fires " to 
cheer their cold and hungry hearts." 

About three o'clock in the morning it again began to snow, 
and at daybret^k they found themselves, as it were, in a cloud ; 
scarcely being able to distinguish objects at the distance of a 
hundred yards. Guiding themselves by the sound of running 
water, they set out for the river, and by slipping and sliding con- 
tx-ived to get down to its bank. One of the horses, missing his 
footing, rolled down several hundred yards with his load, but sus- 
tained no injury. The weather in the valley was less rigorous 
than on the hills. The snow lay but ankle deep, and there was a 
quiet rain now falling. After creeping along for six miles, they 
encamped on the border of the river. Being utterly destitute of 
provisions, they were again compelled to kill one of their horses 
to appease their famishing hunger. 



UNEXPECTED MEETING. 299 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

The wanderers had now accomplished four hundred and seventj- 
two miles of their dreary journey since leaving the Caldron Linn, 
how much further they had yet to travel, and what hardships to 
encounter, no one knew. 

On the morning of the 6th of December, they left their dismal 
encampment, but had scarcely begun their march, when, to their 
surprise, they beheld a party of white men coming up along the 
opposite bank of the river. As they drew nearer, they were re- 
cognized for Mr. Crooks and his companions. When they came 
opposite, and could make themselves heard across the murmuring 
of the river, their first cry was for food ; in fact, they were almost 
starved. Mr. Hunt immediately returned to the camp, and had 
a kind of canoe made out of the skin of the horse, killed on the 
preceding night. This was done after the Indian fashion, by 
drawing up the edges of the skin with thongs, and keeping them 
distended by sticks or thwarts pieces. In this frail bark, Sarde- 
pie, one of the Canadians, carried over a portion of the flesh of 
the horse to the famishing party on the opposite side of the river, 
and brought back with him Mr. Crooks, and the Canadian, Le 
Glerc, The forlorn and wasted looks, and starving condition of 
these two men, struck dismay to the hearts of Mr. Hunt's follow- 
ers. They had been accustomed to each other's appearance, and 
to the gradual operation of hunger and hardship upon their 
frames, but the change in the looks of these men, since last they 
parted, was a type of the famine and desolation of the Itind ; and 



300 ASTORIA. 

they now began to indulge the horrible presentiment that thej 
would all starve together, or be reduced to the direful alternative 
of casting lots ! 

When Mr. Crooks had appeased his hu.nger, he gave Mr, 
Hunt some account of his wayfaring. On the side of the river, 
along which he had kept, he had met with but few Indians, and 
those were too miserably poor to yield much assistance. For the 
first eighteen days after leaving the Caldron Linn, he and his men 
had been confined to half a meal in twenty-four hours ; for three 
days following, they had subsisted on a single beaver, a few wild 
cherries, and the soles of old moccasons ; and for the last six 
days, their only animal food had been the carcass of a dog. They 
had been three days' journey further down the river than Mr. 
Hunt, always keeping as near to its banks as possible, and fre- 
quently climbing over sharp and rocky ridges that projected into 
the stream. At length they had arrived to where the mountains 
increased in height, and came closer to the river, with perpendi- 
cular precipices, which rendered it impossible to keep along the 
stream. The river here rushed with incredible velocity through 
a defile not more than thirty yards wide, where cascades and 
rapids succeeded each other almost without intermission. Even 
had the opposite banks, therefore, been such as to permit a con- 
tinuance of their journey, it would have been madness to attempt 
to pass the tumultuous current, either on rafts or otherwise. Still 
bent, however, on pushing forward, they attempted to climb the 
opposing mountains ; and struggled on through the snow for half 
a day until, coming to where they could command a prospect, 
they found that they were not half way to the summit, and that 
mountain upon mountain lay piled beyond them, in wintry deso- 
lation. Famished and emaciated as they were, to continue for- 
ward would be to perish ; their only chance seemed to be to 
regain the river, and retrace their steps up its banks It was in 



INSURMOUNTABLE DIFFICULTIES. 301 



this forlorn and retrograde march that they had met Mr. Hunt 
and his party. 

Mr. Crooks also gave information of some others of their fel- 
low adventurers. He had spoken several days previously with 
Mr. Reed and Mr. M'Kenzie, who with their men were on the 
opposite side of the river, where it was impossible to get over to 
them. They informed him that Mr. M'Lellan had struck across 
from the little river above the mountains, in the hope of falling 
in with some of the tribe of Flatheads, who inhabit the western 
skirts of the Rocky range. As the companions of Reed and 
M'Kenzie were picked men, and had found provisions more abun- 
dant on their side of the river, they were in better condition, and 
more fitted to contend with the difficulties of the country, than 
those of Mr. Crooks, and when he lost sight of them, were push- 
ing onward, down the course of the river. 

Mr. Hunt took a night to revolve over his critical situation, 
and to determine what was to be done. No time was to be lost ; 
he had twenty men and more, in his own party, to provide for, 
and Mr. Crooks and his men to relieve. To linger would be to 
starve. The idea of retracing his steps was intolerable, and, not- 
withstanding all the discouraging accounts of the ruggedness of 
the mountains lower down the river, he would have been disposed 
to attempt them, but the depth of the snow with which they 
were covered, deterred him ; having already experienced the 
impossibility of forcing his way against such an impediment. 

The only alternative, therefore, appeared to be, to return and 
seek the Indian bands scattered along the small rivers above the 
mountains. Perhaps, from some of these he might procure 
horses enough to support him until he could reach the Columbia; 
for he still cherished the hope of arriving at that river in the 
course of the winter, though he was apprehensive that few of Mr. 
Crooks' party would be sufficiently strong to follow him. Even 



302 ASTORIA. 

in adopting tins course, he liad to make up hi'^ mind to tlie 
certainty of several days of famine at the outset, for it would tako 
that time to reach the last Indian lodges from which he had 
parted, and until they should arrive there, his people would have 
nothing to subsist upon but haws and wild berries, excepting one 
miserable horse, which was little better than skin and bone. 

After a night of sleepless cogitation, Mr. Hunt announced to 
his men the dreary alternative he had adopted, and preparations 
were made to take Mr. Crooks and Le Clerc across the river, 
with the remainder of the meat, as the other party were to keep 
up along the opposite bank. The skin canoe had unfortunately 
been lost in the night; a raft was constructed, therefore, after the 
manner of the natives, of bundles of willows, but it could not be 
floated across the impetuous current. The men were directed, 
in consequence, to koep on along the river by themselves, while 
Mr. Crooks and Le Clerc would proceed with Mr. Hunt. They 
all, then, took up their retrograde march with drooping spirits. 

In a little while, it was found that Mr. Crooks and Le Clerc 
were so feeble as to walk with difficulty, so that Mr. Hunt was 
obliged to retard his pace, that they might keep up with him. 
His men grew impatient at tlie delay. They murmured that 
they had a long and desolate region to traverse, before they 
could arrive at the point where they might expect to find horses ; 
that it was impossible for Crooks and Le Clerc, in their feeble 
condition, to get over it ; that to remain with them would only 
be to starve in their company. They importuned Mr. Hunt, 
therefore, to leave these unfortunate men to their fate, and think 
only of the safety of himself and his party. Finding him not to 
be moved either by entreaties or their clamors, they began to 
proceed without him, singly and in parties. Among those who 
thus went off was Pierre Dorion, the interpreter. Pierre owned 
the only remaining horse ; which was now a mere skeleton. Mr 



MR. CROOKS AND LE CLERC LEFT. 303 



Hunt had suggested, in their present extremity, that it should 
be killed for food ; to which the half-breed flatly refused his 
assent, and cudgelling the miserable animal forward, pushed on 
sullenly, with the air of a man doggedly determined to quarrel 
for his right. In this way Mr. Hunt saw his men, one after 
another, break away, until but five remained to bear him company 
On the following morning, another raft was made, on which 
Mr. Crooks and Le Clerc again attempted to ferry themselves 
across the river, but after repeated trials, had to give up in 
despair. This caused additional delay: after which, they ,on- 
tinued to crawl forward at a snail's pace. Some of the men who 
had remained with Mr. Hunt now became impatient of these 
incumbrances, and urged him, clamorously, to push forward, 
crying out that they should all starve. The night which 
succeeded was intensely cold, so that one of the men was severely 
frost-bitten. In the course of the night, Mr. Crooks was taken 
ill, and in the morning was still more incompetent to travel. 
Their situation was now desperate, for their stock of provisions 
was reduced to three beaver skins. Mr. Hunt, therefore, re- 
solved to push on, overtake his people, and insist upon having 
the horse of Pierre Dorion sacrificed for the relief of all hands. 
Accordingly, he left two of his men to help Crooks and Le Clerc 
on their way, giving them two of the beaver skins for their 
support ; the remaining skin he retained, as provision for himself 
and the three other men who struck forward with him. 



304 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

All that day, Mr. Hunt and his three comrades travelled with- 
out eating. At night they made a tantalizing supper on their 
beaver skin, and were nearly exhausted by hunger and cold. The 
next day, December 10th, they overtook the advance party, who 
were all as much famished as themselves, some of them not hav- 
ing eaten since the morning of the seventh. Mr. Hunt now pro- 
posed the sacrifice of Pierre Dorion's skeleton horse. Here he 
again met with positive and vehement opposition from the half- 
breed, who was too sullen and vindictive a fellow to be easily dealt 
with. What was singular, the men, though suffering such jDinch- 
ing hunger, interfered in favor of the horse. They represented, 
that it was better to keep on as long as possible without resorting 
to this last resource. Possibly the Indians, of whom they were 
in quest, might have shifted their encampment, in which case it 
would be time enough to kill the horse to escape starvation. Mr. 
Hunt, therefore, was prevailed upon to grant Pierre Dorion's 
horse a reprieve. 

Fortunately, they had not proceeded much further, when, 
towards evening, they came in sight of a lodge of Shoshonies, 
with a number of horses grazing around it. The sight was as 
unexpected as it was joyous. Having seen no Indians in this 
neighborhood as they passed down the river ; they must have 
subsequently come out from among the mountains. Mr. Hunt, 
who first descried them, checked the eagerness of his companions, 
knowing the unwillingness of these Indians to part witli their 



A NECESSARY OUTRAGE. 305 



horses, and their aptness to hurry them off and conceal them, in 
case of an alarm. This was no time to risk such a disappoint 
ment. Approaching, therefore, stealthily and silently, they came 
upon the savages by surprise, who fled in terror. Five of their 
norses were eagerly seized, and one was dispatched upon the spot. 
The carcass was immediately cut up, and a part of it hastily 
cooked and ravenously devoured. A man was now sent on horse- 
back with a supply of the flesh to Mr. Crooks and his compan- 
ions. He reached them in the night ; they were so famished 
that the supply sent them seemed but to aggravate their hunger, 
and they were almost tempted to kill and eat the horse that had 
brought the messenger. Availing themselves of the assistance 
of the animal, they reached the camp early in the morning. 

On arriving there, Mr. Crooks was shocked to find that, while 
the people on this side of the river, were amply supplied with 
provisions, none had been sent to his own forlorn and famishing 
men on the opposite bank. He immediately caused a skin canoe 
to be constructed, and called out to his men to fill their camp- 
kettles with water and hang them over the fire, that no time 
might be lost in cooking the meat the moment it should be re- 
ceived. The river was so narrow, though deep, that every thing 
could be distinctly heard and seen across it. The kettles were 
placed on the fire, and the water was boiling by the time the 
canoe was completed. When all was ready, however, no one 
would undertake to ferry the meat across. A vague, and almost 
superstitious terror had infected the minds of Mr. Hunt's fol 
lowers, enfeebled and rendered imaginative of horrors by the dis- 
mal scenes and sufferings through which they had passed. They 
regarded the haggard crew, hovering like spectres of famine on 
the opposite bank, with indefinite feelings of awe and apprehen 
sion ; as if something desperate and dangerous was to be feared 
from them. 



306 ASTORIA. 

Mr. Crooks tried in vain to reason or shame them out of this 
singular state of mind. He then attempted to navigate the canoe 
himself, but found his strength incompetent to brave the impetu- 
ous current. The good feelings of Ben Jones, the Kentuckian, 
at length overcame his fears, and he ventured over. The supply 
he brought was received with trembling avidity. A poor Cana- 
dian, however, named Jean Baptiste Prevost, whom, famine had 
rendered wild and desperate, ran frantically about the bank, after 
Jones had returned, crying out to Mr. Hunt to send the canoe 
for him, and take him from that horrible region of famine, de- 
claring that otherwise he would never march another step, but 
would lie down there and die. 

The canoe was shortly sent over again, under tne manage- 
ment of Joseph Delaunay, with further supplies. Prevost im- 
mediately pressed forward to embark. Delaunay refused to admit 
him, telling him that there was now a sufficient supply of meat 
on his side of the river. He replied that it was not cooked, and 
he should starve before it was ready ; he implored, therefore, to 
be taken where he could get something to appease his hunger im- 
mediately. Finding the canoe putting off without him, he forced 
himself aboard. As he drew near the opposite shore, and b?held 
meat roasting before the fire, he jumped up, shouted, clapped his 
hands, and danced in a delirium of joy, until he upset the canoe. 
The poor wretch was swept away by the current and drowned, and 
it was with extreme difficulty that Delaunay reached the shore. 

Mr. Hunt now sent all his men forward excepting two or 
three. In the evening, he caused another horse to be killed, and 
a canoe to be made out of the skin, in which he sent over a fur- 
ther supply of meat to the opposite party. The canoe brought 
back John Day, the Kentucky hunter, who came to join his for- 
mer employer and commander, Mr. Crooks. Poor Day, once so 
active and vigorous, was now reduced to a condition even more 



EMERGE FROM THE MOUNTAINS. 307 

feeble and emaciated tliau liis companions. Mr. Crooks had such 
a value for the man, on account of his past services and faitliful 
character, that he determined not to quit him ; he exhorted Mr. 
Hunt, however, to proceed forward, and join the party, as his 
presence was all important to the conduct of the expedition. 
One of the Canadians, Jean Baptiste Dubreuil, likewise remained 
with Mr. Crooks. 

Mr. Hunt left two horses with them, and a part of the car- 
cass of the last that had been killed. This, he hoped, would 
be sufficient to sustain them until they should reach the Indian 
encampment. 

One of the chief dangers attending the enfeebled condition 
of Mr. Crooks and his companions, was their being overtaken 
by the Indians whose horses had been seized : though Mr. Hunt 
hoped that he had guarded against any resentment on the part 
of the savages, by leaving various articles in their lodge, more 
than sufficient to compensate for the outrage he had been com- 
pelled to commit. 

Resuming his onward course, Mr. Hunt came up with his 
people in the evening. The next day, December 13th, he beheld 
several Indians, with three horses, on the opposite side of the 
river, and after a time came to the two lodges which he had seen 
on going down. Here he endeavored in vain to barter a rifle for 
a horse, but again succeeded in effecting the purchase with an 
old tin kettle, aided by a few beads. 

The two succeeding days were cold and stormy ; the snow 
was augmenting, and there was a good deal of ice running in the 
river. Their road, however, was becoming easier ; they were 
getting out of the hills, and finally emerged into the open coun- 
try, after twenty days of fatigue, famine, and hardship of every 
kind, in the ineffectual attempt to find a passage down the river. 

They now encamped on a little willowed stream, running 



SU8 ASTORIA. 

from the east, which they had crossed on the 26th of Novemher 
Here they found a dozen lodges of Shoshonies, recently arrived, 
who informed them that had they persevered along the river, 
they would have found their difficulties augment until they 
became absolutely insurmountable. This intelligence added to 
the anxiety of Mr. Hunt for the fate of Mr. M'Kenzie and his 
people, who had kept on. 

Mr. Hunt now followed up the little river, and encamped at 
some lodges of Shoshonies, from whom he procured a couple 
of horses, a dog, a few dried fish, and some roots and dried cher- 
ries. Two or three days were exhausted in obtaining informa- 
tion about the route, and what time it would take to get to the 
Sciatogas, a hospitable tribe, on the west side of the mountains, 
represented as having many horses. The replies were various, 
but concurred in saying that the distance was great, and would 
occupy from seventeen to twenty-one nights. Mr. Hunt then 
tried to procure a guide ; but though he sent to various lodges 
up and down the river, offering articles of great value in Indian 
estimation, no one would venture. The snow they said was waist 
deep in the mountains ; and to all his offers they shook their 
heads, gave a shiver, and replied, " we shall freeze ! we shall 
freeze !" at the same time they urged him to remain and pass 
the winter among them. 

Mr. Hunt was in a dismal dilemma. To attempt the moun- 
tains without a guide, would be certain death to him and all his 
people ; to remain there, after having already been so long on the 
journey, and at such great expense, was worse to him, he said, 
than " two deaths, ' He now changed his tone with the Indians^ 
charged them with deceiving him in respect to the mountains, 
and talking with a " forked tongue," or, in other words, with 
lying. He upbraided them with their want of courage, and told 
them they were women, to shrink from the perils of such a jour- 



CROSSING SNAKE RIVER. 309 



Dey. At length one of them, piqued by his taunts, or tempted 
by his offers, agreed to be his guide ; for which he was to receive 
a gun, a pistol, three knives, two horses, and a little of every 
article in possession of the party ; a reward sufficient to make 
him one of the wealthiest of his vagabond nation. 

Once more, then, on the 21st of December, they set jut upon 
their wayfaring, with newly excited spirits. Two other Indians 
accompanied their guide, who led them immediately back to 
Snake River, which they followed down for a short distance, in 
search of some Indian rafts made of reeds, on which they might 
cross. Finding none, Mr. Hunt caused a horse to be killed, and 
a canoe to be made out of its skin. Here, on the opposite bank, 
they saw the thirteen men of Mr. Crooks' party, who had con- 
tinued up along the river. They told Mr. Hunt, across the 
stream, that they had not seen Mr. Crooks, and the two men who 
had remained with him, since the day that he had separated from 
them. 

The canoe proving too small, another horse was killed, and 
the skin of it joined to that of the first. Night came on before 
the little bark had made more than two voyages. Being badly 
made, it was taken apart and put together again, by the light of 
the fire. The night was cold ; the men were weary and disheart- 
ened. with such varied and incessant toil and hardship. They 
crouched, dull and drooping, around their fires ; many of them 
began to express a wish to remain where they were for the win- 
ter. The very necessity of crossing the river dismayed some of 
them in their present enfeebled and dejected state. It was rapid 
and turbulent, and filled with floating ice, and they remembered 
that two of their comrades had already perished in its waters. 
Others looked forward with misgivings to the long and dismal 
journey through lonesome regions that awaited them, when they 
should have passed this dreary flood. 



310 ASTORIA. 

■ At an early hour of the morning, December 23d, they began 
to cross the river. Much ice had formed during the night, and 
they were obliged to break it for some distance on each shore. 
At length they all got over in safety to the vrest side ; and their 
spirits rose on having achieved this perilous passage. Here they 
were rejoined by the people of Mr. Crooks, who had with them 
a horse and a dog, which they had recently procured. The poor 
fellows were in the most squalid and emaciated state. Three of 
them were so completely prostrated in strength and spirits, that 
they expressed a wish to remain among the Snakes. Mr. Hunt, 
therefore, gave them the canoe, that they might cross the river, 
and a few articles, with which to procure necessaries, until they 
should meet with Mr. Crooks. There was another man, named 
Michael Carriere, who was almost equally reduced, but he deter- 
mined to proceed with his comrades, who were now incorporated 
with the party of Mr. Hunt. After the day's exertions they en- 
camped together on the banks of the river. This was the lafet 
night they were to spend upon its borders. ' More than eight 
hundred miles of hard travelling, and many weary days, had it 
cost them ; and the suiferings connected with it, rendered it 
hateful in their remembrance, so that the Canadian voyageurs 
always spoke of it as "La maudite riviere enragee" — the ac- 
cursed mad river thus coupling a malediction with its name. 



DEPARTURE FROM THE RIVER. 311 



CHAPTER XXXYII. 

On the 24tli of December, all things being arranged, Mr. Hunt 
turned his back upon the disastrous banks of Snake River, and 
struck his course westward for the mountains. His party, being 
augmented by the late followers of Mr. Crooks, amounted now to 
thirty-two white men, three Indians, and the squaw and two chil- 
dren of Pierre Dorion. Five jaded, half-starved horses were 
laden with their luggage, and, in case of need, were to furnish 
them with jirovisions. They travelled painfully about fourteen 
miles a day, over plains and among hills, rendered dreary by oc- 
casional falls of snow and rain. Their only sustenance was a 
scanty meal of horse flesh once in four-and- twenty hours. 

On the third day the poor Canadian, Carriere, one of the 
famished party of Mr. Crooks, gave up in despair, and lying down 
upon the ground declared he could go no further. Efibrts were 
made to cheer him up, but it was found that the poor fellow was 
absolutely exhausted and could not keep on his legs. He was 
mounted, therefore, upon one of the horses, though the forlorn 
animal was in little better plight than himself 

On the 2Sth, they came upon a small stream winding to the 
north, through a fine level valley ; the mountains receding on 
each side. Here their Indian friends pointed out a chain of 
woody mountains to the left, running north and south, and covered 
with snow ; over which they would have to pass. They kept 
along the valley for twenty-one miles on the 29th, suffering much 
from a continued fall of snow and rain, and being twice obliged 



m 



ASTORIA. 



to ford tlie icy stream. Early in the following morning the 
squaw of Pierre Dorion, who had hitherto kept on without mur- 
muring or flinching, was suddenly taken in labor, and enriched 
her husband with another child. As the fortitude and good con- 
duct of the poor woman had gained for her 1 he good-will of the 
party, her situation caused concern and perplexity. Pierre, how- 
ever, treated the matter as an occurrence that could soon bo 
arranged and need cause no delay. He remained by his wife in 
the camp, with his other children and his horse, and promised 
soon to rejoin the main body, who proceeded on their march. 

Finding that the little river entered the mountains, they 
abandoned it, and turned off for a few miles among hills. Here 
another Canadian, named La Boute, gave out, and had to be 
helped on horseback. As the horse was too weak to bear both 
him and his pack, Mr. Hunt took the latter upon his own shoul- 
ders. Thus, with difficulties augmenting at every step, they 
urged their toilsome way among the hills half famished, and faint 
at heart, when they came to where a fair valley spread out before 
them of great extent, and several leagues in width, with a beauti 
ful stream meandering through it. A genial climate seemed to 
prevail here, for though the snow lay upon all the mountains 
within sight, there was none to be seen in the valley. The tra- 
vellers gazed with delight upon this serene sunny landscape, but 
their joy was complete on beholding six lodges of Shoshonies 
pitched upon the borders of the stream, with a number of horses 
and dogs about them. They all pressed forward with eagernesa 
and soon reached the camp. Here their first attention was to 
obtain provisions. A rifle, an old musket, a tomahawk, a tin ket- 
tle, and a small quantity of ammunition soon procured them four 
horses, three dogs, and some roots. Part of the live stock was 
immediately killed, cooked with all expedition, and as promptly 
devoured. A hearty meal restored every one to good spirits. In 



THE NEW YEAR. 8l3 



the course of the following morning the Dorion familj-Biade its 
reappearance. Pierre came trudging in the advance, followed 
by his valued, though skeleton steed, on which was ai6unted his 
squaw with the new-born infant in her arms, and her boy of two 
years old, wrapped in a blanket and slung at her sMe. The 
mother looked as unconcerned as if nothing had happened to 
her ; so easy is nature in her operations in the wilderness, when 
free from the enfeebling refinements of luxury, and the tamper- 
ings and appliances of art. 

The next morning ushered in the new year (1812). Mr. Hunt 
was about to resume his march, when his men requested permis- 
sion to celebrate the day. This was particularly urged by the 
Canadian voyageurs, with whom new-year's day is a favorite festi- 
val ; and who never willingly give up a holiday, under any cir- 
cumstances. There was no resisting such an application ; so the 
day was passed in repose and revelry ; the poor Canadians con- 
trived to sing and dance in defiance of all their hardships ; and 
there was a sumptuous new-year's banquet of dog's meat and 
horse flesh. 

After two days of welcome rest, the travellers addressed 
themselves once more to their painful journey. The Indians of 
the lodges pointed out a distant gap through which they must 
pass in traversing the ridge of mountains. They assured them 
that they would be but little incommoded by snow, and in three 
days would arrive among the Sciatogas. Mr. Hunt, however, 
had been so frequently deceived by Indian accounts of routes 
and distances, that he gave but little faith to this information. 

The travellers continued their course due west for five days, 
crossing the valley and entering the mountains. Here the tra- 
velling became excessively toilsome, across rough stony ridges, 
and amidst fallen trees. They were often knee deep in enow, 
and sometimes in the hollows between the ridges sank up to 

14 



314 ASTORIA. 

their waists. The weather was extremely cold ; the sky covered 
with cloudSj so that for days they had not a glimpse of the sun. 
In traversing the highest ridge they had a wide but chilling 
prospect over a wilderness of snowy mountains. 

On the 6th of January, however, they had crossed the dividing 
summit of the chain, and were evidently under the influence of a 
milder climate. The snow began to decrease ; the sun once 
more emerged from the thick canopy of clouds, and shone 
cheeringly upon them, and they caught a sight of what appeared 
to be a plain, stretching out in the west. They hailed it as the 
poor Israelites hailed the first glimpse of the promised land, for 
they flattered themselves that this might be the great plain of 
the Columbia, and that their painful pilgrimage might be drawing 
to a close. 

It was now five days since they had left the lodges of the 
Shoshonies, during which they had come about sixty miles, and 
their guide assured them that in the course of the next day they 
would see the Sciatogas. 

On the following morning, therefore, they pushed forward 
with eagerness, and soon fell upon a small stream which led them 
through a deep, narrow defile, between stupendous ridges. Here 
among the rocks and precipices they saw gangs of that mountain- 
loving animal, the black-tailed deer, and came to where great 
tracks of horses were to be seen in all directions, made by the 
Indian hunters. 

The snow had entirely disappeared, and the hopes of soon 
coming upon some Indian encampment induced Mr. Hunt to 
press on. Many of the men, however, were so enfeebled that 
they could not keep up with the main body, but lagged, at inter- 
vals, behind ; and some of them did not arrive at the night 
encampment. In the course of this day'f march the recently 
born child of Pierre Dorion died. 



A SCIATOGA CAMP. 315 



The inarch was resumed early the next morning, without 
waiting for the stragglers. The stream which they had followed 
throughout the preceding day was now swollen by the influx of 
another river ; the declivities of the hills were green and the 
valleys were clothed with grass. At length the jovial cry was 
given of " an Indian camp !" It was yet in the distance, in the 
bosom of the green valley, but they could perceive that it con- 
sisted of numerous lodges, and that hundreds of horses were 
grazing the grassy meadows around it. The prospect of abun 
dance of horse flesh difi'used universal joy, for by this time the 
whole stock of travelling provisions was reduced to the skeleton 
steed of Pierre Dorion, and another wretched animal, equally 
emaciated, that had been rej)eatedly reprieved during the journey. 

A forced march soon brought the weary and hungry travel- 
lers to the camp. It proved to be a strong party of Sciatogas 
and Tus-che-pas. There were thirty-four lodges, comfortably 
constructed of mats ; the Indians, too, were better clothed than 
any of the wandering bands they had hitherto met on this side 
of the Rocky Mountains. Indeed they were as well clad as the 
generality of the wild hunter tribes. Each had a good buffalo 
or deer skin robe ; and a deer skin hunting shirt and leggins. 
Upwards of two thousand horses were ranging the pastures 
around their encampment ; but what delighted Mr. Hunt was, 
on entering the lodges, to behold brass kettles, axes, copper tea 
kettles, and various other articles of civilized manufacture, which 
showed that these Indians had an indirect communication with 
the people of the sea-coast who traded with the whites. He 
made eager inquiries of the Sciatogas, and gathered from them 
that the great river (the Columbia,) was but two days' march 
distant, and that several white people had recently descended it; 
who he hoped might prove to be M'Lellan, M'Kenzie and their 
companions. 



31G ASTORIA. 

It was with the utmost joy and the most profound gratitude 
to heaven, that Mr. Hunt found himself and his band of weary 
and famishing wanderers, thus safely extricated from the most 
perilous part of their long journey, and within the prospect of a 
termination of their toils. All the stragglers who had lagged 
behind arrived, one after another, excepting the poor Canadian 
voyageur, Carriere. He had been seen late in the preceding 
afternoon, riding behind a Snake Indian, near some lodges of that 
nation, a few miles distant from the last night's encampment ; 
and it was expected that he would soon make his appearance. 

The first object of Mr. Hunt was to obtain provisions for his 
men. A little venison of an indiiferent quality, and some roots 
were all that could be procured that evening ; but the next day 
he succeeded in purchasing dT mare and colt, which were immedi- 
ately killed, and the cravings of the half-starved people in some 
degree appeased. 

For several days they remained in the neighborhood of these 
Indians, reposing after all their hardships, and feasting upon 
horse flesh and roots, obtained in subsequent traffic. Many of 
the people ate to such excess as to render themselves sick, others 
were lame from their past journey ; but all gradually recruited 
in the repose and abundance of the valley. Horses were obtained 
here much more readily, and at a cheaper rt.te, than among the 
Snakes. A blanket, a knife, or a half pound of blue beads would 
purchase a steed, and at this rate many of the men bought horses 
for their individual use. 

This tribe of Indians, who are represented as a proud-spirited 
race, and uncommonly cleanly, never eat horses nor dogs, nor 
would they permit the raw flesh of either to be brought into their 
huts. They had a small quantity of venison in each lodge, but 
Bet so high a price upon it that the white men, in their impover- 
ished state, could not afford to purchase it. They hunted the 



UMATALLA RIVER. 317 



deer on horseback ; '• ringing," or surrounding them, and running 
them down in a circle. They were admirable horsemen, and their 
weapons were bows and arrows, which they managed with great 
dexterity. They were altogether primitive in their habits, and 
seemed to cling to the usages of savage life, even when possessed 
of the aids of civilization. They had axes among them, yet they 
generally made use of a stone mallet wrought into the shape of 
a bottle, and wedges of elk horn, in splitting their wood. Though 
they might have two or three brass kettles hanging in their lodges, 
yet they would frequently use vessels made of willow, for carry- 
ing water, and would even boil their meat in them, by means of 
hot stones. Their women wore caps of willow neatly worked and 
figured. 

As Carriere, the Canadian straggler, did not make his appear- 
ance for two or three days after the encampment in the valley, 
two men were sent out on horseback in search of him. They 
returned, however, without success. The lodges of the Snake 
Indians near which 'he had been seen were removed, and they 
could find no trace of him. Several days more elapsed, yet 
nothing was seen or heard of him, or of the Snake horseman, 
behind whom he had been last observed. It was feared, there- 
fore, that he had either perished through hunger and fatigue ; 
had been murdered by the Indians ; or, being left to himself, 
had mistaken some hunting tracks for the trail of the party, and 
been led astray and lost. 

The river on the banks of which they were encamped, emptied 
into the Columbia, was called by the natives the Eu-o-tal-la, or 
Umatalla, and abounded with beaver. In the course of their 
ojourn in the valley which it watered, they twice shifted their 
camp, proceeding about thirty miles down its course, which was 
to the west. A lieavy fall of rain caused the river to over 
flow its banks, dislodged them from their encampment, and 



318 ASTORIA. 

drowned three of their horses, which were tethered in the low 
ground. 

Further conversation with the Indians satisfied them that 
they were in the neighborhood of the Columbia. The number of 
the white men who they said had passed down the river, agreed 
with that of M'Lellan, M'Kenzie, and their companions, and 
increased the hope of Mr. Hunt that they might have passed 
through the wilderness with safety. 

These Indians had a vague story that white men were coming 
to trade among them ; and they often spoke of two great men 
named Ke-Koosh and Jacquean, who gave them tobacco, and 
smoked with them. Jacquean, they said, had a house somewhere 
upon the great river. Some of the Canadians supposed they were 
speaking of one Jacquean Finlay, a clerk of the Northwest Com- 
pany, and inferred that the house must be some trading post on 
one of the tributary streams of the Columbia. The Indians were 
overjoyed when they found this band of white men intended to 
return and trade with them. They promised to use all diligence 
in collecting quantities of beaver skins, and no doubt proceeded 
to make deadly war upon that sagacious, but iH-fated animal, 
who, in general, lived in peaceful insignificance among his Indian 
neighbors, before the intx-usion of the white trader. On the 20th 
of January, Mr. Hunt took leave of these friendly Indians, and 
of the river on which they were encamped, and continued west- 
ward. 

At length, on the following day, the wayworn travellers lifted 
up their eyes and beheld before them the long-sought waters of 
the Columbia. The sight was hailed with as much transport as 
if they had already reached the end of their pilgrimage ; nor can 
we wonder at their joy. Two hundred and forty miles had they 
marched, through wintry wastes and rugged mountains, since 
leaving Snake River ; and six months of perilous wayfaring had 



CROSS THE COLUMBIA. 319 



they experienced since tlieir departure from the Arickara village 
on the Missouri. Their whole route by land and water from 
that point had been, according to their computation, seventeen 
hundred and fifty-one miles, in the course of which they had 
endured all kinds of hardships. In fact, the necessity of avoid- 
ing the dangerous country of the Blackfeet had obliged them to 
make a bend to the south, and to traverse a great additional 
extent of unknown wilderness. 

The place where they struck the Columbia was some distance 
below the junction of its two great branches, Lewis and Clarke 
Rivers, and not far from the influx of the Wallah- Wallah. It 
was a beautiful stream, three quarters of a mile wide, totally free 
from trees ; bordered in some places with steep rocks, in others 
with pebbled shores. 

On the banks of the Columbia they found a miserable horde 
of Indians, called Akai-chies, with no clothing but a scanty man- 
tle of the skins of animals, and sometimes a pair of sleeves of 
wolfs skin. Their lodges were shaped like a tent, and very light 
and warm, being covered with mats of rushes ; beside which they 
had excavations on the ground, lined with mats, and occupied by 
the women, who were even more slightly clad than the men. 
These people subsisted chiefly by fishing ; having canoes of p. 
rude construction, being merely the trunks of pine trees split ana 
hollowed out by fire. Their lodges were well stored with dried 
salmon, and they had great quantities of fresh salmon trout of an 
excellent flavor, taken at the mouth of the Umatalla ; of which 
the travellers obtained a most acceptable supply. 

Finding that the road was on the north side of the river, Mr. 
Hunt crossed, and continued five or six days travelling rather 
slowly down along its banks, being much delayed by the straying 
of the horses, and the attempts made by the Indians to steal 
them. They frequently passed lodges, where they obtained fish 



910' ASTORIA. 

and dogs. At one place the natives had just returned from 
hunting, a^d had brought back a large quantity of elk and deer 
meat, but asked so high a price for it as to be beyond the funds 
of the travellers, so they had to content themselves with dog's 
flesh. They had by this time, however, come to consider it vory 
choice food, superior to horse flesh, and the minutes of the expe- 
dition speak rather exultingly now and then, of their having 
made a " famous repast," where this viand happened to be un- 
usually plenty. 

They again learnt tidings of some of the scattered members 
of the expedition, supposed to be M'Kenzie, M'Lellan, and their 
men, who had preceded them down the river, and had overturned 
one of their canoes, by which they lost many articles. All these 
floating pieces of intelligence of their fellow adventurers, who 
had separated from them in the heart of the wilderness, they 
received with eager interest. 

The weather continued to be temperate, marking the superior 
softness of the climate on this side of the mountains. For a 
great part of the time, the days were delightfully mild and clear, 
like the serene days of October, on the Atlantic borders. The 
country in general, in the neighborhood of the river, was a con- 
tinual plain, low near the water, but rising gradually ; destitute 
of trees, and almost without shrubs or plants of any kind, ex- 
cepting a few willow bushes. After travelling about sixty miles, 
they came to where the country became very hilly and the river 
made its way between rocky banks, and down numerous rapids. 
The Indians in this vicinity wera better clad and altogether in 
more prosperous condition than those above, and, as Mr. Hunt 
thought, showed their consciousness of ease by something like 
sauciness of manner. Thus prosperity is apt to produce arro- 
gance in savage as well as in civilized life. In botii conditions, 
man is an animal that will not bear pampering 



THE FALLS OF THE COLUMBIA. 821 



From these people Mr. Hunt for the first time received vague, 
but deeply interesting intelligence of that part of the enterprise 
which had proceeded by sea to the mouth of the Columbia. 
The Indians spoke of a number of white men who had built a 
large house at the mouth of the great river, and surrounded it 
with palisades. None of them had been down to Astoria them- 
selves ; but rumors spread widely and rapidly from mouth to 
mouth among the Indian tribes, and are carried to the heart of 
the interior, by hunting parties and migratory hordes. 

The establishment of a trading emporium at such a point, 
also, was calculated to cause a sensation to the most remote parts 
of the vast wilderness beyond the mountains. It, in a manner, 
struck the pulse of the great vital river, and vibrated up all its 
tributary streams. 

It is surprising to notice how well this remote tribe of savages 
had learnt through intermediate gossips, the private feelings of 
the colonists at Astoria : it shows that Indians are not the incu- 
rious and indifferent observers that they have been represented. 
They told Mr. Hunt that the white people at the large house had 
been looking anxiously for many of their friends, whom they had 
expected to descend the great river ; and had been in much 
affliction, fearing that they were lost. Now, however, the arrival 
of him and his party would wipe away all their tears, and they 
would dance and sing for joy. 

On the 31st of January, Mr. Hunt arrived at the falls of the 
Columbia, and encamped at the village of Wish-ram, situated at 
the head of that dangerous pass of the river called " the long 
narrows." 

U* 



823 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

Of the village of Wish-ram, the aborigines' fishing mart of the 
Columbia, we have given some account in an early chapter of 
this work. The inhabitants held a traffic in the productions of 
the fisheries of the falls, and their village was the trading resort 
of the tribes from the coast and from the mountains. Mr. Hunt 
found the inhabitants shrewder and more intelligent than any 
Indians he had met with. Trade had sharpened their wits, 
though it had not improved their honesty ; for they were a com- 
munity of arrant rogues and freebooters. Their habitations com- 
ported with their circumstances, and were superior to any the 
travellers had yet seen west of the Rocky Mountains. In gen- 
eral, the dwellings of the savages on. the Pacific side of that great 
barrier, were mere tents and cabins of mats, or skins, or straw, 
the country being destitute of timber. In Wish-ram, on the con- 
trary, tlie houses were built of wood, with long sloping roofs. 
The floor was sunk about six feet below the sui'face ef the ground, 
with a low door at the gable end, extremely narrow, and partly 
sunk. Through this it was nocessary to crawl, and then to de- 
scend a short ladder. This inconvenient entrance was probably 
for the purpose of defence ; there were loop-holes also under the 
eaves, apparently for the discharge of arrows. The houses were 
large, generally containing two or three families. Immediately 
within the door were sleeping places, ranged along the walls, like 
berths in a ship ; and furnished with pallets of matting. These 
extended along one-half of the building ; the remaining half was 
appropriated to the storing of dried fish. 



DISTRESSING INTELLIGENCE. 323 



The trading operations of the inhabitants of Wish-ram had 
given them a wider scope of information, and rendered their 
village a kind of head-quarters of intelligence. Mr. Hunt was 
able, therefore, to collect more distinct tidings concerning the 
settlement of Astoria and its affairs. One of the inhabitants had 
been at the trading post established by David Stuart on the 
Oakinagan, and had picked up a few words of English there. 
From him, Mr. Hunt gleaned various particulars about that 
establishment, as well as about the general concerns of the enter- 
prise. Others repeated the name of Mr. M'Kay, the partner 
who perished in the massacre on board of the Tonquin, and gave 
some account of that melancholy affair. They said, Mr. M'Kay 
was a chief among the white men, and had built a great house at 
the mouth of the river, but had left it and sailed away in a large 
ship to the northward, where he had been attacked by bad In- 
dians in canoes. Mr. Hunt was startled by this intelligence, 
and made further inquiries. They informed him that the 
Indians had lashed their canoes to the ship, and fought until 
they killed him and all his people. This is another instance of 
the clearness with which intelligence is transmitted from mouth 
to mouth among the Indian tribes. These tidings, though but 
partially credited by Mr. Hunt, filled his mind with anxious 
forebodings. He now endeavored to procure canoes, in which to 
descend the Columbia, but none suitable for the purpose were to 
be obtained above the narrows ; he continued on, therefore, the 
distance of twelve miles, and encamped on the bank of the rivei*. 
The camp was soon surrounded by loitering savages, who went 
prowling about, seeking what they might pilfer. Being baffled 
by the vigilance of the guard, they endeavored to compass their 
ends by other means. Towards evening, a number of warriors 
entered the camp in ruffling style ; paintod and dressed out as 
if for battle, and armed with lances, bows and arrows, and 



.334 ASTORIA. 

soalpiltg knives. They informed Mr. Hunt that a party of 
thirty or forty braves were coming xip from a village below to 
attack tke camp and cari'y off the horses, but that they were 
ddterfiiiDed to stay with him, and defend him. Mr. Hunt re- 
ceived them with great coldness, and, when they had finished 
tj^ir story, gave them a pipe to smoke. He then called up all 
ii»n^ aliened sentinels in different quarters, but tv)ld them to 
keep ftg ligilant an eye within the camp as without. 

The w*rriors were evidently baffled by these precautions, and, 
having SBM>ked their pipe, and vapored off their valor, took their 
departure. The farce, however, did not end here. After a little 
while, the warriors returned, ushering in another savage, still 
more heroically arrayed. This they announced as the chief of 
the belligerent village, but as a great pacificator. His people 
had been ftiriously bent upon the attack, and would have doubt- 
less carried it into effect, but this gallant chief had stood forth 
as the friend of white men, and had dispersed the throng by 
his own authority and prowess. Having vaunted this signal 
piece of service, there was a significant pause ; all evidently ex 
pecting some adequate reward. Mr. Hunt again produced the 
pipe, smoked with the chieftain and his worthy compeers ; but 
made no further demonstrations of gratitude. They remained 
aboiil; t^e caaip all night, but at daylight returned, bafiled and 
crest-fallen, to their homes, with nothing but smoke for their pains. 

Mr. Hunt now endeavored to procure canoes, of which he saw 
several about the neighborhood, extremely well made, with ele- 
vated stems and sterns, some of them capable of carrying three 
thqi4S3.nd ppunds weight. He found it extremely difiicult, how- 
ever, to deal with these slippery ^people, who seemed much more 
inclined to pilfer. Notwithstanding a strict guard maintained 
round the camp, various implements were stolen, and several 
horses carried off. Atoong the latter, we have to include the 



ARRIVAL AT ASTORIA. 32^ 



loug-cherisli^d steed of Pierre Dorion. From some wilful caprice, 
that worthy pitched his tent at some distance from the main body, 
and tethered his invaluable steed beside it, from whence it was 
abstracted in the night, to the infinite chagrin and mortification 
of the hybrid interpreter. 

Having, after several days' negotiation, procured the requisite 
number of canoes, Mr. Hunt would gladly have left this ihie'vish 
neighborhood, but was detained until the 5th of February by 
violent head winds, accompanied by snow and rain. Even after 
he was enabled to get under way, he had still to struggle against 
contrary winds and tempestuous weather. The current of the 
river, however, was in his favor ; having made a portage at the 
grand rapid, the canoes met with no further obstruction, and, on 
the afternoon of the loth of February, swept round an interven- 
ing cape, and came in sight of the infant settlement of Astoria. 
After eleven months wandering in the wilderness, a great part of 
the time over trackless wastes, where the sight of a savage wig- 
wam v/as a rarity, we may imagine the delight of the poor 
weather-beaten travellers, at beholding the embryo establishment, 
with its magazines, habitations, and picketed bulwarks, seated on 
a high point of land, dominating a beautiful little bay, in vv^hich 
was a trim-built shallop riding quietly at anchor. A shout of joy 
burst from each canoe at the long-wished-for sight. They urged 
their canoes across the bay, and pulled with eagerness for shore, 
where all hands poured down from the settlement to receive and 
welcome them. Among the first to greet them on their landing 
were some of their old comrades and fellow-sufferers, who, under 
the conduct of Reed, M'Lellan, and M'Kenzie, had parted from 
them at the Caldron Linn. These had reached Astoria nearly a 
month previously, and, judging from their own narrow escape 
from starvation, had given up Mr. Hunt and his followers as lost. 
Their greeting was the more warm and cordial. As to the Cana 



326 ASTORIA. 

diaii voyageurs, their mutual felicitations, as usual, were loud and 
vociferous, and it was almost ludicrous to Lehold these ancient 
" comrades " and " confreres," hugging and kissing each other on 
the river bank. 

When the first greetings were over, the difierent bands inter- 
changed accounts of their several wanderings, after separating at 
Snake River ; we shall briefly notice a few of the leading particu- 
lars. It will be recollected by the reader, that a small exploring 
detachment had proceeded down the river, under the conduct of 
Mr. John Reed, a clerk of the company : that another had set 
off under M'Lellan, and a third in a different direction, under 
M'Kenzie. After wandering for several days without meeting 
with Indians, or obtaining any supplies, they came together for- 
tuitously among the Snake River mountains, some distance below 
that disastrous pass or strait, which had received the appellation 
of the Devil's Scuttle Hole. 

When thus united, their party consisted of M'Kenzie, M'Lel- 
lan, Reed, and eight men, chiefly Canadians. Being all in the 
same predicament, without horses, provisions, or information of 
any kind, they all agreed that it would be worse than useless to 
return to Mr. Hunt and encumber him with so many starving 
men, and that their only course was to extricate themselves as 
soon as possible from this land of famine and misery, and make 
the best of their way for the Columbia. They accordingly con- 
tinued to follow the downward course of Snake River ; clamber- 
ing rocks and mountains, and defying all the difficulties and dan 
gers of that rugged defile, which subsequently, when the snows 
had fallen, was found impassable by Messrs. Hunt and Crooks. 

Though constantly near to the borders of the river, and for a 
great part of the time within siglit of its current, one of their 
greatest sufferings was thirst. The river Lad worn its way in a 
deep channel through rocky mountains, destitute of brooks or 



ADVENTURES. 32T 



springs. Its banks were so high and precipitous, that there was 
rarely any place where the travellers could get down to drink of 
its waters. Frequently they suffered for miles the torments of 
Tantalus ; water continually within sight, yet fevered with the 
most parching thirst. Here and there they met with rain-water 
collected in the hollows of the rocks, but more than once they 
were reduced to the utmost extremity ; and some of the men 
had recourse to the last expedient to avoid perishing. 

Their suiFerings from hunger were equally severe. They 
could meet with no game, and subsisted for a time on strips of 
beaver skin, broiled on the coals. These were doled out in 
scanty allowances, barely sufficient to keep up existence, and at 
length failed them altogether. Still they crept feebly on, scarce 
dragging one limb after another, until a severe snow-storm 
brought them to a pause. To struggle against it, in their 
exhausted condition, was impossible, so cowering under an im- 
pending rock at the foot of a steep mountain, they prepared 
themselves for that wretched fate which seemed inevitable. 

At this critical juncture, when famine stared them in the 
face, M'Lellan casting up his eyes, beheld an ahsahta, or bighorn, 
sheltering itself under a shelving rock on the side of the hill 
above them. Being in a more active plight than any of his com- 
rades, and an excellent marksman, he set oif to get within shot 
of the animal His companions watched his movements with 
breathless anxiety, for their lives depended upon his success. 
He made a cautious circuit ; scrambled up the hill with the 
utmost silence, and at length arrived, unperceived, within a 
proper distance. Here levelling his rifle he took so sure an aim, 
that the bighorn fell dead on the spot ; a fortunate circumstance, 
for, to pursue it, if merely woun led, would have been impossible 
in his emaciated state. The declivity of the hill enabled him to 



328 ASTORIA. 

roll the Ccarcass down to his companions, who were too feeble to 
climb the rocks. They fell to work to cut it up; jet exerted a 
remarkable self-denial for men in their starving condition, for 
they contented themselves for the present with a soup made from 
the bones, reserving the flesh for future repasts. This providen- 
tial relief gave them strength to pursue their journey, but they 
were frequently reduced to almost equal straits, and it was only 
the smallness of their party, requiring a small supply of pro- 
visions, that enabled them to get through this desolate region 
with their lives. 

At length, after twenty-one days of toil and suffering, they 
got through these mountains, and arrived at a tributary stream 
of that branch of the Columbia called Lewis River, of which 
Snake River forms the southern fork. In this neighborhood 
they met with wild horses, the first they had seen west of the 
Rocky Mountains. From hence they made their way to Lewis 
River, where they fell in with a friendly tribe of Indians, who 
freely administered to their necessities. On this river they pro- 
cured two canoes, in which they droj)ped down the stream to its 
confluence with the Columbia, and then down that river to Asto- 
ria, where they arrived haggard and emaciated, and perfectly 
in rags. 

Thus, ail the leading persons of Mr. Hunt's expedition were 
once more gathered together, excepting Mr. Crooks, of whose 
safety they entertained but little hope, considering the feeble 
condition in which they had been compelled to leave him in the 
heart of the wilderness. 

A day was now given up to jubilee, to celebrate the arrival of 
Mr. Hunt and his companions, and the joyful meeting of the 
various scattered bands of adventurers at Astoria. The colors 
were hoisted ; the guns, great and small, were fired ; there was 



FESTIVAL AT ASTORIA. 329 



a feast of fisli, of beaver, and venison, which relished well with 
men who had so long been glad to revel on horse flesh and dogs 
meat ; a genial allowance of grog was issued, to increase the 
general animation, and the festivities wound up, as usual, with a 
grand dance at night, by the Canadian voyageurs.* 

* The distance from St. Louis to Astoria, by the route travelled by Hunt 
and M'Kenzie, was upwards of thirty-five hundred miles, though in a direct 
line, it does not exceed eighteen himdred. 



330 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

The winter had passed away tranquilly at Astoria. The appr> 
hensions of hostility from the natives had subsided ; indeed, aa 
the season advanced, the Indians for the most part had disap- 
peared from the neighborhood, and abandoned the sea-coast, so 
that, for want of their aid, the colonists had at times suffered con- 
siderably for want of provisions. The hunters belonging to the 
establishment made frequent and wide excursions, but with very 
moderate success. There were some deer and a few bears to be 
found in the vicinity, and elk in great numbers ; the country, 
however, was so rough, and the woods so close and entangled, 
that it was almost impossible to beat up the game. The preva- 
lent rains of winter, also, rendered it difficult for the hilnter to 
keep his arms in order. The quantity of game, therefore, brought 
in by the hunters was extremely scanty, and it was frequently 
necessary to put all hands on very moderate allowance. Towards 
spring, however, the fishing season commenced, — the season of 
plenty on the Columbia. About the beginning of February, a 
small kind of fish, about six inches long, called by the natives 
the uthlecan, and resembling the smelt, made its appearance at 
the mouth of the river. It is said to be of delicious flavor, and 
so fat as to burn like a candle, for which it is often used by the 
natives. It enters the river in immense shoals, like solid col- 
umns, often extending to the depth of five or more feet, and is 
scooped up by the natives with small nets at the end of poles. 
In this way they will soon fill a canoe, or form a great heap upon 
the river banks. These fish constitute a principal article of their 



THE UTHLECAN. 331 



food ; the women drying them and stringing them on cords. As 
the uthlecan is only found in the lower part of the river, the 
arrival of it soon brought back the natives to the coast ; who 
again resorted to the factory to trade, and from that time fur- 
nished plentiful supplies of fish. 

The sturgeon makes its appearance in the river shortly after 
the uthlecan, and is taken in different ways, by the natives: 
sometimes they spear it ; but oftener they use the hook and line, 
and the net. Occasionally, they sink a cord in the river by a 
heavy weight, with a buoy at the upper end, to keep it floating. 
To this cord several hooks are attached by short lines, a few 
feet distant from each other, and baited with small fish. This 
apparatus is often set towards night, and by the next morning 
several sturgeon will be found hooked by it ; for though a large 
and strong fish, it makes but little resistance when ensnared. 

The salmon, which are the prime fish of the Columbia, and as 
important to the piscatory tribes as are the bufialoes to the 
hunters of the prairies, do not enter the river until towards the 
latter part of May, from which time, until the middle of August, 
they abound, and are taken in vast quantities, either with the 
spear or seine, and mostly in shallow water. An inferior species 
succeeds, and continues from August to December. It is re- 
markable for having a double row of teeth, half an inch long and 
extremely sharp, from whence it has received the name of the 
dog-toothed salmon. It is generally killed with the spear in 
small rivulets, and smoked for winter provision. We have 
noticed in a former chapter the mode in which the salmon are 
taken and cured at the falls of the Columbia ; and put up in 
parcels for exportation. From these difi'erent fisheries of the 
river tribes, the establishment at Astoria had to derive much of 
its precarious supplies of provisions. 

A year's residence at the mouth of the Columbia, and various 



332 ASTORIA. 

expeditions in tlie interior, liad new given tlie Astorians some 
idea of the country. The whole coast is described as remarkably 
rugged and mountainous ; with dense forests of hemlock, spruce, 
white and red cedar, cotton-wood, white oak, white and swamp 
ash, willow, and a few walnut. There is likewise an undergrowth 
of aromatic shrubs, creepers, and clambering vines, that render 
the forests almost impenetrable ; together with berries of various 
kinds, such as gooseberries, strawberries, raspberries, both red 
and yellow, very large and finely flavored whortleberries, cran- 
berries, serviceberries, blackberries, currants, sloes, and wild and 
choke cherries. 

Among the flowering vines is one deserving of particular 
notice. Each flower is composed of six leaves or petals, about 
three inches in length, of a beautiful crimson, the inside spotted 
with white. Its leaves, of a fine green, are oval, and disposed 
by threes. This plant climbs upon the trees without attaching 
itself to them ; when it has reached the topmost branches, it 
descends perpendicularly, and as it continues to grow, extends 
from tree to tree, until its various stalks interlace the grove like 
the rigging of a ship. The stems or trunks of this vine are 
tougher and more flexible than willow, and are from fifty to one 
hundred fathoms in length. From the fibres, the Indians manu- 
facture baskets of such close texture as to hold water. 

The principal c[uadrupeds that had been seen by the colonists 
in their various expeditions, were the stag, fallow deer, hart, 
black and grizzly bear, antelope, ahsahta, or bighorn, beaver, sea 
and river otter, muskrat, fox, wolf, and panther, the latter ex- 
tremely rare. The only domestic animals among the natives were 
horses and dogs. 

The country abounded with aquatic and land birds, such as 
fiwans, wild geese, brant, ducks of almost every description, peli- 
canSj herons, gulls, snipes, curlews, eagles, vultures, crows, ravens 



CLIMATE WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS. 333 



magpies, woodpeckers, pigeons, partridges, pheasants, grouse, and 
a great variety of singing birds. 

There were few reptiles ; tlie only dangerous kinds were the 
rattlesnake, and one striped with black, yellow, and white, about 
four feet long. Among the lizard kind was one about nine or 
ten inches in length, exclusive of the tail, and three inches in 
circumference. The tail was round, and of the same length as 
the body. The head was triangular, covered with small square 
scales. The upper part of the body was likewise covered with 
small scales, green, yellow, black, and blue. Each foot had five 
toes, furnished with strong nails, probably to aid it in burrowing, 
as it usually lived under ground on the plains. 

A remarkable fact, characteristic of the country west of the 
llocky Mountains, is the mildness and equability of the climate. 
That great mountain barrier seems to divide the continent into 
different climates, even in the same degrees of latitude. The 
rigorous winters and sultry summers, and all the capricious ine- 
qualities of temperature prevalent on the Atlantic side of the 
mountains, are but little felt on their western declivities. The 
countries between them and the Pacific are blessed with milder 
and steadier temperature, resembling the climates of parallel 
latitudes in Europe. In the plains and valleys but li^.tle snow 
falls throughout the winter, and usually melts while falling. It 
rarely lies on the ground more than two days at a time, except 
on the summits of the mountains. The winters are rainy rather 
than cold. The rains for five months, from the middle of Octo- 
ber to the middle of March, are almost incessant, and often ac- 
companied by tremendous thunder and lightning. The winds 
pi'evalent at this season are from the south and southeast, which 
usually bring rain. Those from the north to the southwest are 
the harbingers of fair weather and a clear sky. The residue of 
the year, from the middle of March to the middle of October 



334 ASTORIA. 

an interval of seven months, is serene and delightful. There is 
scarcely any rain throughout this time, yet the face of the country 
is kept fresh and verdant by nightly dews, and occasionally by 
humid fogs in the mornings. These are not considered prejudi- 
cial to health, since both the natives and the vehites sleep in the 
open air with perfect impunity. While this equable and bland 
temperature prevails throughout the lower country, the peaks 
and ridges of the vast mountains by which it is dominated, are 
covered with perpetual snow. This renders them discernible at 
a great distance, shining at times like bright summer clouds, at 
other times assuming the most aerial tints, and always forming 
brilliant and striking features in the vast landscape. The mild 
temperature prevalent throughout the country is attributed by 
some to the succession of winds from the Pacific Ocean, extend- 
ing from latitude twenty degrees to at least fifty degrees north. 
These temper the heat of summer, so that in the shade no one is 
incommoded by perspiration ; they also soften the rigors of win- 
ter, and produce such a moderation in the climate, that the inhab- 
itants can wear the same dress throughout the year. 

The soil in the neighborhood of the sea-coast is of a brown 
color, inclining to red, and generally poor ; being a mixture of 
clay and gravel. In the interior, and especially in the valleys 
of the Rocky Mountains, the soil is generally blackish ; though 
sometimes yellow. It is frequently mixed with marl, and with 
marine substances in a state of decomposition. This kind of 
soil extends to a considerable depth, as may be perceived in the 
deep cuts made by ravines, and by the beds of rivers. The vege- 
tation in these valleys is much more abundant than near the 
coast ; in fact, it is in these fertile intervals, locked up between 
rocky sierras, or scooped out from barren wastes, that population 
must extend itself, as it were, in veins and ramifications, if ever 
the regions beyond the mountains should become civilized. 



NATIVES OF THE COAST. 33i 



CHAPTER XL. 

A BRIEF mention lias already been made of the tribes or hordes 
existing about the lower part of the Columbia at the time of tlie 
settlement ; a few more particulars concerning them may be 
acceptable. The four tribes nearest to Astoria, and with whom 
the traders had most intercourse, were, as has heretofore been 
observed, the Chinooks, the Clatsops, the Wahkiacums, and the 
Cathlamets. The Chinooks resided chiefly along the banks of a 
river of the same name, running jjarallel to the sea-coast, through 
a low country stixdded with stagnant pools, and emptying itself 
into Baker's Bay, a few miles from Cape Disappointment. This 
was the tribe over which Comcomly, the one-eyed chieftain, held 
sway ; it boasted two hundred and fourteen fighting men. Their 
chief subsistence was on fish, with an occasional regale of the 
flesh of elk and deer, and of wild-fowl from the neighboring 
ponds. 

The Clatsops resided on both sides of Point Adams ; they 
were the mere relics of a tribe which had been nearly swept off 
by the smallpox, and did not number more than one hundred 
and eighty fighting men. 

The Wahkiacums, or TVaak-i-cums, inhabited the north side 
of the Columbia, and numbered sixty-six warriors. They and 
the Chinooks were originally the same ; but a dispute arising 
about two generations previous to the time of the settlement be- 
tween the ruling chief and his brother Wahkiacum, the latter 
seceded, and with his adherents formed the present horde which 



S3G ASTORIA. 



continues to go by his name. In this way new tribes or clans are 
formed, and lurking causes of hostility engendered. 

The Cathlamets lived opposite to the lower village of the 
Wuhkiacums, and numbered ninety-four warriors. 

These four tribes, or rather clans, have every appearance of 
springing from the same origin, resembling each other in person, 
dress, language and manners. They are rather a diminutive race, 
generally below five feet five inches, with crooked legs and thick 
ankles ; a deformity caused by their passing so much of their 
time sitting or squatting upon the calves of their legs, and their 
heels, in the bottom of their canoes ; a favorite position, which 
they retain, even when on shore. The women increase the de- 
formity by wearing tight bandages round the ankles, which pre- 
vent the circulation of the blood, and cause a swelling of the 
muscles of the leg. 

Neither sex can boast of personal beauty. Their faces are 
round, with small, but animated eyes. Their noses are broad and 
flat at top, and fleshy at the end, Avith large nostrils. They have 
wide mouths, thick lips, and short, irregular and dirty teeth. In- 
deed, good teeth are seldom to be seen among the tribes west of 
the Hocky Mountains, who live chiefly on fish. 

In the early stages of their intercourse with white men, these 
savages were but scantily clad. In summer time the men went 
entirely naked ; in the winter and in bad weather, the men wore 
a small rooe, reachmg to the middle of the thigh, made of the 
skms of animals, or of tnc wooi of the mountain sheep. Occa- 
sionally, tney wore a kind of mantle of matting, to keep off the 
rain ; but, having thus protected the back and shoulders, they 
left the rest of the body naked. 

The women wore similar robes, though shorter, not reaching 
below the waist ; beside which, they had a kind of petticoat, or 
fringe, reaching from the waist to the knee, formed of the fibres 



FEATURES AND DRESS. 337 



of cedar bark, broken into strands, or a tissue of silk grass twisted 
and knotted at the ends. This was the usual dress of the women 
in summer ; should the weather be inclement, they added a vest 
of skins, similar to the robe. 

The men carefully eradicated every vestige of a beard, con- 
sidering it a great deformity. They looked with disgust at the 
whiskers and well-furnished chins of the white men, and in de- 
rision called them Long-beards. Both sexes, on the other hand, 
cherished the hair of the head, which with them is generally black 
and rather coarse. They allowed it to grow to a gi-eat length, 
and were very proud and careful of it, sometimes wearing it 
plaited, sometimes wound round the head in fanciful tresses. No 
greater affront could be offered to them than to cut off their 
treasured locks. 

They had conical hats with narrow rims, neatly woven of bear 
grass or of the fibres of cedar bark, interwoven with designs of 
various shapes and colors ; sometimes merely squares and tri- 
angles, at other times rude representations of canoes, with men 
fishing and harpooning. These hats were nearly waterproof, and 
extremely durable. 

The favorite ornaments of the men were collars of bears' 
claws, the proud trophies of hunting exploits ; while the women 
and children wore similar decorations of elks' tusks. An inter- 
course with the white traders, however, soon effected a change in 
the toilets of both sexes. They became fond of arraying them- 
selves in any article of civilized dress which they could procure, 
and often made a most grotesque appearance. They adapted 
many articles of finery, also, to their own previous tastes. Both 
sexes were fond of adorning themselves with bracelets of iron, 
brass or copper. They were delighted, also, with blue and white 
beads, particularly the former, and wore broad tight bands of 
them round the waist and ankles ; large roils of them round the 

15 



338 ASTORIA. 

nect, and pendants of tliem in the ears. The men, especially, 
who, in savage life carry a passion for personal decoration farther 
than the females, did not think their gala equipments complete, 
unless they had a jewel of haiqua, or wampum, dangling at the 
nose. Thus arrayed, their hair besmeared with fish oil, and their 
bodies bedaubed with red clay, they considered themselves irre- 
sistible. 

When on warlike expeditions, they painted their faces and 
bodies in the most hideous and grotesque manner, according to 
the universal practice of American savages. Their arms were 
bows and arrows, spears, and war clubs. Some wore a corslet, 
formed of pieces of hard wood, laced together with bear grass, ho 
as to form a light coat of mail, pliant to the body ; and a kind of 
casque of cedar bark, leather, and bear grass, sufl&cient to protect 
the head from an arrow or war club. A more complete article of 
defensive armor was a buff jex-kin or shirt of great thickness, 
made of doublings of elk skin, and reaching to the feet, holes 
being left for the head and arms. This was perfectly arrow 
proof; add to which, it was often endowed with charmed virtues, 
by the spell? and mystic ceremonials of the medicine man, or 
conjurer. 

Of the peculiar custom, prevalent among these people, of flat- 
tening the head, we have already spoken. It is one of those in- 
stances of human caprice, like the crippling of the feet of females 
in China, which are quite incomprehensible. This custom pre- 
vails principally among the tribes on the sea-coast, and about the 
lower parts of the rivers. How for it extends along the coast we 
are not able to ascertain. Some of the tribes, both north and 
south of the Columbia, practise it ; but they all speak the Chinook 
language, and probably originated from the same stock. As far 
as we can learn, the remoter tribes, which speak an entirely differ- 
ent language, do not flatten the head. This a.bsurd custom de- 



OF THE AIR SPIRIT AND THE FIRE SPIRIT. 339 



clines, also, in receding fx-oni the shores of the Pacific ; few traces 
of it are to be found among the tribes of the Rocky Mountains, 
and after crossing the mountains it disappears altogether. Those 
Indians, therefore, about the head waters of the Columbia, and in 
the solitary mountain regions, who are often called Flatheads, 
must not be supposed to be chai-acterized by this deformity. It 
is an appellation often given by the hunters east of the mountain 
chain, to all the western Indians, excepting the Snakes. 

The religious belief of these people was extremely limited and 
confined ; or rather, in all probability, their explanations were but 
little understood by their visitors. They had an idea of a bene- 
volent and omnipotent spirit, the creator of all things. They 
represent him as assuming various shapes at pleasure, but gene 
rally that of an immense bird. He usually inhabits the sun, but 
occasionally wings his way through the aerial regions, and sees 
all that is doing upon earth. Should any thing displease him, he 
vents his wrath in terrific storms and tempests, the lightning being 
the flashes of his eyes, and the thunder the clapping of his 
wings. To propitiate his favor they oifer to him annual sacrifices 
of salmon and venison, the first fruits of their fishing and hunting. 

Beside this aerial spirit they believe in an inferior one, who 
inhabits the fire, and of whom they are in perpetual dread, as, 
though he possesses equally the power of good and evil, the evil 
is apt to predominate. They endeavor, therefore, to keep him in 
good humor by frequent offerings. He is supposed also to have 
great influence with the winged spirit, their sovereign protector 
and benefactor. They implore him, therefore, to act as their 
interpreter, and procure them all desirabable things, such as suc- 
cess in fishing and hunting, abundance of game, fleet horses, obe 
dient wives, and male children. 

These Indians have likewise their priests, or conjurers, or 
medicine men, who pretend to be in the confidence of the deities 



340 ASTORIA. 

and the expounders and enforcers of their will. Each of these 
medicine men ha.s his idols carved in wood, representing the 
spirits of the air and of the fire, under some rude and grotesque 
form of a horse, a bear, a beaver, or other quadruped, or that of 
bird or fish. These idols are hung round with amulets and 
votive ofi"erings, such as beavers' teeth, and bears' and eagles' 
claws. 

When any chief personage is on his death-bed, or danger- 
ously ill, the medicine men are sent for. Each brings with him 
his idols, with which he retires into a canoe to hold a consulta- 
tion. As doctors are prone to disagree, so these medicine men 
have now and then a violent altercation as to the malady of the 
patient, or the treatment of it. To settle this they beat their 
idols soundly against each other ; whichever first loses a tooth 
or a claw is considered as confuted, and his votary retires from 
the field. 

Polygamy is not only allowed, but considered honorable, and 
the greater number of wives a man can maintain, the more impor- 
tant is he in the eyes of the tribe. The first wife, however, takes 
rank of all the others, and is considered mistress of the house. 
Still the domestic establishment is liable to jealousies and cabals, 
and the lord and master has much difficulty in maintaining har- 
mony in his jangling household. 

In the manuscript from which we draw many of these par- 
ticulars, it is stated that he who exceeds his neighbors in the 
number of his wives, male children and slaves, is elected chief of 
the village ; a title to office which we do not recollect ever before 
to have met with. 

Feuds are frequent among these tribes, but are not very 
deadly. They have occasionally pitched battles, fought on ap- 
pointed days, and at specified places, which are generally the 
banks of a rivulet. The adverse parties post themselves on the 



AMUSEMENTS— GAMBLING— STEALIN G. 341 



opposite sides of the stream, and at such distances that the cat- 
ties often last a long while before any blood is shed. The 
number of killed and wounded seldom exceed half a dozen. 
Should the damage be equal on each side, the war is considered 
as honorably concluded ; should one party lose more than the 
other, it is entitled to a compensation in slaves or other property, 
otherwise hostilities are liable to be renewed at a future day, 
They are much given also to predatory inroads into the terri- 
tories of their enemies, and sometimes of their friendly neigh- 
bors. Should they fall upon a band of inferior force, or upon 
a village, weakly defended, they act with the ferocity of true 
poltroons, slaying all the men, and carrying off the women and 
children as slaves. As to the property, it is packed upon 
horses which they bring with them for the purpose. They are 
mean and paltry as warriors, and altogether inferior in heroic 
qualities to the savages of the buffalo plains on the east side of 
the mountains. 

A great portion of their time is passed in revelry, music, 
dancing, and gambling. Their music scarcely deserves the name ; 
the instruments being of the rudest kind. Their singing is harsh 
and discordant ; the songs are chiefly extempore, relating to 
passing circumstances, the persons present, or any trifling object 
that strikes the attention of the singer. They have several kinds 
of dances, some of them lively and pleasing. The women are 
rarely permitted to dance with the men, but form groups apart, 
dancing to the same instrument and song. 

They have a great passion for play, and a variety of games. 
To such a pitch of excitement are they sometimes roused, that 
they gamble away every thing they possess, even to their wives 
and children. They are notorious thieves, also, and proud of 
their dexterity. lie who is frequently successful, gains much 
applause and popularity ; but the clumsy thief, who is detected 



343 ASTORIA. 

in some bungling attempt, is scoffed at and despised, and some- 
times severely punished. 

Such are a few leading characteristics of the natives in the 
neighborhood of Astoria. They appear to us inferior in many 
respects to the tribes east of the mountains, the bold rovers of 
the prairies ; and to partake much of the Esquimaux character ; 
elevated in some degree by a more genial climate, and more 
varied style of living. 

The habits of traffic engendered at the cataracts of the Co- 
lumbia, have had their influence along the coast. The Chinooks 
and other Indians at the mouth of the river, soon proved them- 
selves keen traders, and in their early dealings with the Astori- 
ans, never hesitated to ask three times what they considered the 
real value of an article. They were inquisitive, also, in the 
extreme, and impertinently intrusive ; and were prone to indulge 
in scoffing and ridicule, at the expense of the strangers. 

In one thing, however, they showed superior judgment and 
self-command to most of their race ; this was, in their abstinence 
from ardent spirits, and the abhorrence and disgust with which 
they regarded a drunkard. On one occasion, a son of Comcomly 
had been induced to drink freely at the factory, and went home 
in a state of intoxication, playing all kinds of mad pranks, until 
he sank into a stupor, in which he remained for two days. The 
old chieftain repaired to his friend, M'Dougal, with indignation 
flaming in his countenance, and bitterly reproached him for 
having permitted his son to degrade himself into a beast, and to 
render himself an object of scorn and laughter to his slave. 



VARIOUS EXPEDITIONS SET ON FOOT. 343 



CHAPTER XLL 

As the spring opened, the little settlement of Astoria was in agi 
tation, and prepared to send forth various expeditions. Several 
important things were to be done. It was necessary to send a 
supply of goods to the trading post of Mr. David Stuart, estab- 
lished in the preceding autumn on the Oakinagan. The cache, 
or secret deposit, made by Mr. Hunt at the Caldron Linn, was 
likewise to be visited, and the merchandise and other effects left 
there, to be brought to Astoria. A third object of moment was 
to send dispatches overland to Mr. Astor at New-York, inform- 
ing him of the state of aifairs at the settlement, and the fortunes 
of the several expeditions. 

The task of carrying supplies to Oakinagan was assigned 
to Mr. Robert Stuart, a «5pirited and enterprising young man, 
nephew to the one who had established the post. The cache was 
to be sought out by two of the clerks, named Russell Farnham 
and Donald M'Gilles, conducted by a guide, and accompanied by 
eight men, to assist in bringing home the goods. 

As to the dispatches, they were confided to Mr. John Reed, 
the clerk, the same who had conducted one of the exploring 
detachments of Snake River. He was now to trace back his way 
across the mountains by the same route by which he had come, 
with no other companions or escort than Ben Jones, the Ken- 
tuck}^ hunter, and two Canadians. As it was still hoped that 
Mr. Crooks might be in existence, and that Mr. Reed and his 
party might meet with him in the course of their route, they 



344 ASTORIA. 

were cliarged with a small supply of goods and provisions, to aid 
that gentleman on his way to Astoria. 

When the expedition of Reed was made known, Mr. M'Lellan 
announced his determination to accompany it. He had long 
been dissatisfied with the smallness of his interest in the copart- 
nership, and had requested an additional number of shares ; his 
request not being complied with, he resolved to abandon the 
company. M'Lellan was a man of a singularly self-willed and 
decided character, with whom persuasion was useless; he was 
permitted, therefore, to take his own course without opposition. 

As to Reed, he set about preparing for his hazardous journey 
with the zeal of a true Irishman. He had a tin case made, in 
which the letters and papers addressed to Mr. Astor were cai'e- 
fully soldered up. This case he intended to strap upon his 
shoulders, so as to bear it about with him, sleeping and waking, 
in all changes and chances, by land or by water, and never to 
part with it but with his life ! 

« As the route of these several parties would be the same for 
nearly four hundred miles up the Columbia, and within that 
distance would lie through the piratical pass of the rapids, and 
among the freebooting tribes of the river, it was thought advisa- 
ble to start about the same time, and to keep together. Accord- 
ingly, on the 22d of March, they all set off, to the number of 
seventeen men, in two canoes ; — and here we cannot but pause to 
notice the hardihood of these sevei'al expeditions, so insignificant 
in point of force, and severally destined to traverse immense wil- 
dernesses, where larger parties had experienced so much danger 
and distress. When recruits were sought in the preceding year 
among experienced hvintors and voyageurs at Montreal and St. 
Louis, it was considered dangerous to attempt to cross the Rocky 
Mountains with less than sixty men ; and yet here we find Reed 
ready to push his way across those barriers with merely three 



THE PIRATICAL PASS. 345 



compauions. Sucli is the fearlessness, the insensibility to dan- 
ger, which men acquire by the habitude of constant risk. The 
mind, like the body, becomes callous by exjjosure. 

The little associated band proceeded up the river, under the 
command of Mr. Kobert Stuart, and arrived early in the month 
of April at the Long Narrows, that notorious plundering place. 
Here it was necessary to unload the canoes, and to transport 
both them and their cargoes to the head of the Narrows by land. 
Their party was too few in number for the purpose. They were 
obliged, therefore, to seek the assistance of the Cathlasco Indians, 
who undertook to carry the goods on their horses. Forward 
then they set, the Indians with their horses well freighted, and 
the first load convoyed by Reed and five men, well armed ; the 
gallant Irishman striding along at the head, with his tin case of 
dispatches glittering on his back. In passing, however, through 
a rocky and intricate defile, some of the freebooting vagrants 
turned their horses up a narrow path and galloped ofi", carrying 
with them two bales of goods, and a number of smaller articles. 
To follow them was useless ; indeed, it was with much ado that 
the convoy got into port with the residue of the cargoes ; for 
some of the guards were pillaged of their knives and pocket 
handkerchiefs, and the lustrous tin case of Mr. John Reed was 
in imminent jeopardy. 

Mr. Stuart heard of these depredations, and hastened forward 
to the relief of the convoy, but could not reach them before dusk, 
by which time they had arrived at the village of Wish-ram, 
already noted for its great fishery, and the knavish propensities 
of its inhabitants. Here they found themselves benighted in a 
strange place, and surrounded by savages bent on pilfering, if 
not upon open robbery. Not knowing what active course to take, 
they remained under arms all night, without closing an eye, and 
at the very first peep of dawn, when objects were yet scarce 

1.1* 



346 ASTORIA. 

visible, every thing was liastily embarked, and, witbout seeking 
to recover the stolen effects, tbey pushed off from shore ; " glad 
to hid adieu," as they said, " to this abominable nest of mis 
creants." 

The worthies of Wish-ram, however, were not disposed to 
part so easily with their visitors. Their cupidity had been 
quickened by the plunder which they had already taken, and 
their confidence increased by the impunity with which their 
outrage had passed. They resolved, therefore, to take further 
toll of the travellers, and, if possible, to capture the tin case of 
dispatches ; which shining conspicuously from afar, and being 
guarded by John Keed with such especial care, must, as they 
supposed, be " a great medicine." 

Accordingly, Mr. Stuart, and his comrades had not proceeded 
far in the canoes, when they beheld the whole rabble of Wish-ram 
stringing in groups along the bank, whooping and yelling, and 
gibbering in their wild jargon, and when they landed below the 
falls, they were surrounded by upwards of four hundred of these 
river rufiians, armed with bows and arrows, war clubs, and other 
savage weapons. These now pressed forward, with offers to 
carry the canoes and effects up the portage. Mr. Stuart declined 
forwarding the goods, alleging the lateness of the hour ; but, to 
keep them in good humor, informed them, that, if they conducted 
themselves well, their offered services might probably be accepted 
in the morning ; in the meanwhile, he suggested that they might 
carry up the canoes. They accordingly set off with the two 
canoes on their shoulders, accompanied by a guard of eight men 
well armed. 

When arrived at the head of the fills, the mischievous spirit 
of the savages broke out, and they wece on the point of destroy 
ing the canoes, doubtless with a view to impede the white men 
from carrying forward their goods, and laying them open to fur- 



PORTAGE AT THE FALLS. 347 



ther pilferino;. Thej were with some difficulty prevented from 
committing tins outrage by the interference of an old man, who 
appeared to have authority among them ; and, in consequence of 
his harangue, the whole of the hostile band, with the exception 
of about fifty, crossed to the north side of the river, where they 
lay in wait, ready for further mischief 

In the meantime, Mr. Stuart, who had remained at the foot 
of the falls with the goods, and who knew that the proffered 
assistance of the savages was only for the purpose of having an 
opportunity to plunder, determined, if jiossible, to steal a march 
upon them, and defeat their machinations. In the dead of the 
night, therefore, about one o'clock, the moon shining brightly, he 
roused his party, and proposed that they should endeavor to 
transport the goods themselves, above the falls, before the sleep- 
ing savages could be aware of their operations. All hands sprang 
to the work with zeal, and hurried it on in the hope of getting 
all over before daylight. Mr. Stuart went forward with the first 
loads, and took his station at the head of the portage, while Mr. 
Reed and Mr. M'Lellan remained at the foot to forward the 
remainder. 

The day dawned before the transportation was completed. 
Some of the fifty Indians who had remained on the south side of 
the river, perceived what was going on, and, feeling themselves 
too weak for an attack, gave the alarm to those on the opposite 
side, upwards of a hundred of whom embarked in several large 
canoes. Two loads of goods yet remained to be brought up. Mr 
Stuart dispatched some of the people for one of the loads, with 
a request to Mr. Reed to retain with him as many men as he 
thought necessary to guard the remaining load, as he suspected 
hostile intentions on the part of the Indians. Mr. Reed, how- 
ever, refused to retain any of them, saying that M'Lellan and 
himself were sufficient to protect the small quantity that remained. 



348 ASTORIA. ' 

The men accordingly departed witli the load, while Reed and 
M'Lellan continued to mount guard over the residue. By this 
time, a number of the canoes had arrived from the opposite side. 
As they approached the shore, the unlucky tin box of John E,eedj 
shining afar like the brilliant helmet of Euryalus, caught their 
eyes. No sooner did the canoes touch the shore, than they leaped 
forward on the rocks, set up a war-whoop, and sprang forward to 
secure the glittering prize. Mr. M'Lellan, who was at the river 
bank, advanced to guard the goods, when one of the savages at- 
tempted to hoodwink him with his buflfalo robe with one hand, and 
to stab him with the other. M'Lellan sprang back just far enough 
to avoid the blow, and raising his rifle, shot the ruffian through 
the heart. 

In the meantime. Reed, who with the want of forethought of 
an Irishman, had neglected to remove the leathern cover from 
the lock of his rifle, was fumbling at the fastenings, when he re- 
ceived a blow on the head with a war club that laid him senseless 
on the ground. In a twinkling he was stripped of his rifle and 
pistols, and the tin box, the cause of all this onslaught, was borne 
off in triumph. 

At this critical juncture, Mr. Stuart, who had heard the war- 
whoop, hastened to the scene of action with Ben Jones, and seven 
others of the men. When he arrived, Reed was weltering in his 
blood, and an Indian standing over him and about to dispatch 
him with a tomahawk. Stuart gave the word, when Ben Jones 
levelled his rifle, and shot the miscreant on the spot. The men 
then gave a cheer, and charged upon the main body of the 
savages, who took to instant flight. Reed was now raised from 
the ground, and borne senseless and bleeding to the upper end 
of the portage. Preparations were made to launch the canoes 
and embark all in haste, when it was found that they were too 
leaky to be put in the water, and that the oars 'had been left at 



AN INDIAN AMBUSH. 349 



the foot of the falls. A scene of confusion now ensued. The 
Indians were whooping and yelling, and running about like 
►fiends. A panic seized upon the men, at being thus suddenly 
checked, the hearts of some of the Canadians died within them, 
and two young men actually fainted away. The moment they 
recovered their senses, Mr. Stuart ordered that they should be 
deprived of their arms, their under garments taken oif, and that 
a piece of cloth should be tied round their waists, in imitation of 
a squaw ; an Indian punishment for cowardice. Thus equipped, 
they were stowed away among the goods in one of the canoes. 
This ludicrous affair excited the mirth of the bolder spirits, even 
in the midst of their perils, and roused the pride of the waver- 
ing. The Indians having crossed back again to the north side, 
order was restored, some of the hands were sent back for the 
oars, others set to work to calk and launch the canoes, and in a 
little while all were embarked and were continuing their voyage 
along the southern shore. 

No sooner had they departed, than the Indians returned to 
the scone of action, bore off their two comrades, who had been 
shot, one of whom was still living, and returned to their village. 
Here they killed two horses ; and drank the hot blood to give 
fierceness to their courage. They painted and arrayed themselves 
hideously for battle ; performed the dead dance round the slain, 
and raised the war song of vengeance. Then mounting their 
horses, to the number of four hundred and fifty men, and bran- 
dishing their weapons, they set off along the northern bank of 
the river, to get ahead of the canoes, lie in wait for them, and 
take a terrible revenge on the white men. 

They succeeded in getting some distance above the canoes 
without being discovered, and were ctossing the river to post 
themselves on the side along which the white men were coasting, 
when they were fortunately descried. Mr. Stuart and his com- 



350 ASTORIA. 

panions were immediately on the alert. As they drew near to 
the place where the savages had crossed, they observed them 
posted among steep and overhanging rocks, close along which, the 
canoes would have to pass. Finding that the enemy had the 
advantage of the ground, the whites stopped short when within 
five hundred yards of them, and discharged and reloaded their 
pieces. They then made a fire, and dressed the wounds of Mr, 
Reed, who had received five severe gashes in the head. This 
being done, they lashed the canoes together, fastened them to a 
rock at a small distance from the shore, and there awaited tho 
menaced attack. 

They had not been long posted in this manner, when they saw 
a canoe approaching. It contained the war-chief of the tribe, and 
three of his principal warriors. He drew near, and made a long 
harangue, in which he informed them that they had killed one 
and wounded another of his nation ; that the relations of the 
slain cried out for vengeance, and he had been compelled to lead 
them to fight. Still he wished to spare unnecessary bloodshed, 
he proposed, therefore, that Mr. Reed, who, he observed, was lit- 
tle better than a dead man, might be given up to be sacrificed to 
the manes of the deceased warrior. This would appease the fury 
of his friends ; the hatchet would then be buried, and all thence- 
forward would be friends. The answer was a stern refusal and a 
defiance, and the war-chief saw that the canoes were well pre- 
pared for a vigorous defence. He withdrew, therefore, and re- 
turning to his warriors among the rocks held long deliberationa 
Blood for blood is a principle in Indian equity and Indian honor ; 
but though the inhabitants of Wish-ram were men of war, they 
were likewise men of traffic, and it was suggested that honor for 
once might give way to 23rofit. A negotiation was accordingly 
opened with the white men, and after some diplomacy, the matter 
was compromised for a blanket to cover the dead, and some to 



THE EXPEDITION ABANDONED. 351 



bacco to be smoked by tlie living. This being granted, the heroes 
of Wish-ram crossed the river once more, returned to their vil- 
lage to feast upon the horses whose blood they had so vain- 
gloriously drunk, and the travellers pursued their voyage without 
further molestation. 

The tin case, however, containing the important dispatches 
for New-York, was irretrievably lost ; the very precaution taken 
by the worthy Hibernian to secure his missives, had, by render- 
ing them conspicuous, produced their robbery. The object of 
his overland journey, therefore, being defeated, he gave up the 
expedition. The whole party repaired with Mr. Robert Stuart 
to the establishment of Mr. David Stuart, on the Oakinagan 
River. After remaining here two or three days, they all set out on 
their return to Astoria, accompanied by Mr. David Stuart, This 
gentleman had a large quantity of beaver skins at his establish- 
ment, but did not think it prudent to take them with him, fearing 
the levy of "black mail" at the falls. 

On their way down, when below the forks of the Columbia, 
they were hailed one day from the shore in English. Look 
ing around, they descried two wretched men, entirely naked. 
They pulled to shore ; the men came up and made themselves 
known. They proved to be Mr. Crooks and his faithful follower, 
John Day. 

The reader will recollect that Mr. Crooks, with Day and four 
Canadians, had been so reduced by famine and fatigue, that Mr. 
Hunt was obliged to leave them, in the month of December, on 
the banks of the Snake River. Their situation was the more 
critical, as they were in the neighborhood of a band of Shosho- 
nies, whose horses had been forcibly seized by Mr. Hunt's party 
for provisions. Mr. Crooks remained here twenty days, detained 
by the extremely reduced state of John Day, who was utterly 
unable to travel, and whom he would not abandon, as Day had 



352 ASTORIA. 

been in his employ on tlie Missouri, and had always proved him 
self most faithful. Fortunately the Shoshonies did not offer to 
molest them. They had never before seen white men, and seemed 
to entertain some superstitions with regard to them, for, though 
they would encamp near them in the daytime, they would move 
off with their tents in the night ; and finally disappeared, without 
taking leave. 

When Day was sufficiently recovered to travel, they kept 
feebly on, sustaining themselves as well as they could, until in 
the month of February, when three of the Canadians, fearful of 
perishing with want, left Mr. Crooks on a small river, on the 
road by which Mr. Hunt had passed in quest of Indians. Mr. 
Crooks followed Mr. Hunt's track in the snow for several days, 
sleeping as usual in the open air, and suffering all kinds of hard- 
ships. At length, coming to a low prairie, he lost every ap- 
pearance of the " trail," and wandered during the remainder of 
the winter in the mountains, subsisting sometimes on horse meat, 
sometimes on beavers and their skins, and a part of the time 
on roots. 

About the last of March, the other Canadian gave out, and 
was left with a lodge of Shoshonies ; but Mr. Crooks and John 
Day still kept on, and finding the snow sufficiently diminished, 
undertook, from Indian information, to cross the last mountain 
ridge. They happily succeeded, and afterwards fell in with the 
Wallah-Wallahs, a tribe of Indians inhabiting the banks of a 
river of the same name, and reputed as being frank, hospitable 
and sincere. They proved worthy of the character, for they 
received the poor wanderers kindly, killed a horse for them to 
eat, and directed them on their way to the Columbia. They 
struck the river about the middle of April, and advanced down 
it one hundred miles, until they came within about twenty miles 
of the falls. 



ARRIVAL AT ASTORIA. 353 



Here they met with some of the " chivalry " of that noted 
pass, who received them in a friendly way, and set food before 
them ; but, while they were satisfying their hunger, perfidiously 
seized their rifles. They then stripped them naked, and drove 
them off, refusing the entreaties of Mr. Crooks for a flint and 
steel of which they had robbed him ; and threatening hia life if 
he did not instantly depart. 

In this forlorn plight, still worse off than before, they re- 
newed their wanderings. They now sought to find their way 
back to the hospitable Wallah- Wallahs, and had advanced eighty 
■miles along the river, when fortunately, on the very morning that 
they were going to leave the Columbia, and strike inland, the 
canoes of Mr. Stuart hove in sight. 

It is needless to describe the joy of these poor men at once 
more finding themselves among countrymen and friends, or of 
the honest and hearty welcome with which they were received by 
their fellow adventurers. The whole party now continued down 
the river, passed all the dangerous places without interruption, 
and arrived safely at Astoria on the 11 th of May. 



SH ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XLII. 

Having traced the fortunes of the two expeditions by sea and 
land to the mouth of the Columbia, and presented a view of aflPaira 
at Astoria, we will return for a moment to the master spirit of 
the enterprise, who regulated the springs of Astoria, at his resi- 
dence in New-York. 

It will be remembered, that a part of the plan of Mr. Astor was 
to furnish the Russian fur establishment on the northwest coast 
with regular supplies, so as to render it independent of those 
casual vessels which cut up the trade and supplied the natives 
with arms. This plan had been countenanced by our own gov- 
ernment, and likewise by Count Pahlen, the Russian minister at 
Washington. As its views, however, were important and exten- 
sive, and might eventually affect a wide course of commerce, Mr. 
Astor was desirous of establishing a complete arrangement on 
the subject with the Russian American Fur Company, under the 
sanction of the Russian government. For this purpose, in March, 
1811, he dispatched a confidential agent to St. Petersburgh, fully 
empowered to enter into the requisite negotiations. A passage 
was given to this gentleman by the government of the United 
States, in the John Adams, one of its armed vessels, bound to a 
European port. 

The next step of Mr. Astor was, to dispatch the annual ship 
contemplated on his general plan. He had as yet heard nothing 
of the success of the previous expeditions, and had to proceed 
upon the presumption that every thing had been effected accord- 



FITTING OUT OF THE BEAVER. 355 



ing to liis instructions. He accordingly fitted out a fine ship of 
four hundred and ninety tons, called the Beaver, and freighted 
her with a valuable cargo destined for the factory, at the mouth 
of the Columbia, the trade along the coast, and the supply of the 
Kussian establishment. In this ship, embarked a reinforcement^ 
consisting of a partner, five clerks, fifteen American laborers, and 
six Canadian voyageurs. In choosing his agents for his first ex- 
pedition, Mr. Astor had been obliged to have recourse to British 
subjects experienced in the Canadian fur trade ; henceforth it was 
his intention, as much as possible, to select Americans, so as to 
secure an ascendency of American influence in the management 
of the company, and to make it decidedly national. 

Accordingly, Mr. John Clarke, the partner, who took the 
lead in the present expedition, was a native of the United 
States, though he had passed much of his life in the northwest, 
having been employed in the fur trade since the age of sixteen. 
Most of the clerks were young gentlemen of good connections 
in the American cities, some of whom embarked in the hope 
of gain, others through the mere spirit of adventure incident 
to youth. 

The instructions given by Mr. Astor to Captain Sowle, the 
commander of the Beaver, were, in some respects, hypothetical, 
in consequence of the uncertainty resting upon the previous steps 
of the enterprise. 

He was to touch at the Sandwich Islands, inquire about the 
fortunes of the Tonquin, and whether an establishment had been 
formed at the mouth of the Columbia. If so, he was to take as 
many Sandwich Islanders as his ship would accommodate, and 
proceed thither. On arriving at the river, he was to observe great 
caution, for even if an establishment should have been formed, it 
might have fallen into hostile hands. He was, therefore, to put 
in as if by casualty or distress, to give himself out as a coasting 



356 ASTORIA. 

trader, and to say nothing about bis sbip being owned by Mr 
Astor, until be bad ascertained tbat every tbing was rigbt. In 
tbat case, be was to land sucb part of bis cargo as was intended 
for tbe establisbment, and to proceed to New Arcbangel witb 
tbe supplies intended for tbe Russian post at tbat place, wbere 
be could receive peltries in payment. Witb tbese be was to 
return to Astoria ; take in tbe furs collected tbere, and, baving 
completed bis cargo by trading along tbe coast, was to proceed 
to Canton. Tbe captain received tbe same injunctions tbat bad 
been given to Captain Tborn of tbe Tonquin, of great caution 
and circumspection in bis intercourse witb tbe natives, and 
tbat be should not permit more than one or two to be on board 
at a time. 

Tbe Beaver sailed from New-York on tbe lOtb of October, 
1811, and reached the Sandwich Islands without any occurrence 
of moment. Here a rumor was heard of the disastrous fate of 
tbe Tonquin. Deep solicitude was felt by evei-y one on board 
for the fate of both expeditions, by sea and land. Doubts were 
entertained whether any establishment had been formed at the 
mouth of tbe Columbia, or whether any of tbe company would 
be founa there. After much deliberation, the captain took 
twelve Sandwich Islanders on board, for the service oi tbe 
factory, should tbere be one in existence, and proceeded on bis 
voyage. 

On the 6tb of May, be arrived off the mouth of tbe Colum- 
bia, and running as near as possible, fired two signal-guns. No 
answer was returned, nor was tbere any signal to be descried. 
Night coming on, the ship stood out to sea, and every heart 
drooped as tbe land faded away. On the following morning they 
again ran in within four miles of the shore, and fired other signal 
guns, but still without reply. A boat was then dispatched, to 
Bound tbe channel, and attempt an entrance ; but returned with 



SIGNAL GUNS- SIGNAL FLAG. 357 



out success^ tliere being a tremeudous swell, and breakers. Sig- 
nal guns wei-e fired again in the evening, but equally in vain, 
and once more the ship stood off to sea for the night. The cap- 
tain now gave up all hope of finding any establishment at the 
place, and indulged in the most gloomy apprehensions. He 
feared his predecessors had been massacred before they had 
reached their place of destination ; or if they should have greeted 
a factory, that it had been surprised and destroyed by the 
natives. ■. 

In this moment of doubt and uncertainty, Mr. Clarke an- 
nounced his determination, in case of the worst, to found an 
establishment with the present party, and all hands bravely en- 
gaged to stand by him in the undertaking. The next morning 
the ship stood in for the third time, and fired three signal guns, 
but with little hope of reply. To the great joy of the crew, three 
distinct guns were heard in answer. The apprehensions of all 
but Captain Sowle were now at rest. That cautious commander 
recollected the instructions given him by Mr. Astor, and deter- 
mined to proceed with great circumspection. He was well aware 
of Indian treachery and cunning. It was not impossible, he ob- 
served, that these cannon might have been fired by the savages 
themselves. They might have surprised the fort, massacred its 
inmates ; and these signal guns might only be decoys to lure him 
across the bar, that they might have a chance of cutting him off, 
and seizing his vessel. 

At length a white flag was descried hoisted as a signal on 
Cape Disappointment. The passengers pointed to it in triumph, 
but the captain did not yet dismiss his doubts. A beacon fire 
blazed through the night on the same place, but the captain 
observed that all these signals might be treacherous. 

On the following morning, May 9th, the vessel came to 
anchor off Cape Disappointment, outside of the bar. Towards 



358 ASTORIA. 

noon an Indian canoe was seen making for the ship, and all 
hands yvere ordered to be on the alert. A few moments after 
wards, a barge was perceived following the canoe. The hopes 
and fears of those on board of the ship were in tumultuous 
agitation, as the boat drew nigh that was to let them know the 
fortunes of the enterprise, and the fate of their predecessors. 
The captain, who was haunted with the idea of possible treachery, 
did not suffer his curiosity to get the better of his caution, but 
ordered a party of his men under arms, to receive tne visitors. 
The canoe came first alongside, in which were Comcomly and 
six Indians ; in the barge were M'Dougal, M'Lellan, and eight 
Canadians. A little conversation with these gentlemen dispelled 
all the captain's fears, and the Beaver crossing the bar under 
their pilotage, anchored safely in Baker's Bay. 



OPERATIONS AT ASTORIA. 369 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

The arrival of the Beaver with a reinforcement and supplies, 
gave new life and vigor to affairs at Astoria. These werd means 
for extending the operations of the establishment, and founding 
interior trading posts. Two parties were immediately set on 
foot to proceed severally under the command of Messrs. M'Kenzle 
and Clarke, and establish posts above the forks of the Columbia, 
at points where most rivalry and opposition were apprehended 
from the Northwest Company. 

A third party, headed by Mr. David Stuart, was to repair 
with supplies to the post of that gentleman on the Oakinagan. 
In addition to these expeditions, a fourth was necessary to convey 
dispatches to Mr. Astor, at New York, in place of those unfor- 
tunately lost by John Reed. The safe conveyance of these dis- 
patches were highly important, as by them Mr. Astor would 
receive an account of the state of the factory, and regulate his 
reinforcements and supplies accordingly. The mission was one 
of peril and hardship, and required a man of nerve and vigoi*. 
It was confided to Robert Stuart, who, though he had never been 
across the mountains, and a very young man, had given proofs of 
his competency to the task. Four trusty and well-tried men, 
who had come over land in Mr. Hunt's expedition, were given as 
his guides and hunters. These were Ben Jones and John Day, 
the Kentuckians, and Andri Vallar and Francis Le Clerc, Cana- 
dians. Mr. M'Lellan again expressed his determination to take 
this opportunity of returning to the Atlantic States. In this he 



3R0 ASTORIA. 

was joined by Mr. Crooks, who, notwithstanding all that he had 
suffered in the dismal journey of the preceding winter, was ready 
to retrace his steps and brave every danger and hardship, rather 
than remain at Astoria. This little handful of adventurous men 
we propose to accompany in its long and perilous preregrinations. 

The several parties we have mentioned all set off in company 
on the 29th of June, under a salute of cannon from the fort. 
They were to keep together, for mutual protection, through the 
piratical passes of the river, and to separate, on their different 
destinations, at the forks of the Columbia. Their number, col- 
lectively, was nearly sixty, consisting of partners and clerks, 
Canadian voyageurs. Sandwich Islanders, and American hunt- 
ers ; and they .taibarked in two barges and ten canoes. 

They had scarcely got under way, when John Day, the Ken- 
tucky hunter, became restless and uneasy, and extremely way- 
ward in his deportment. This caused surprise, for in general he 
was remarkable for his cheerful, manly deportment. It was sup- 
posed that the recollection of past sufferings might harass his 
mind in undertaking to retrace the scenes where they had been 
experienced. As the expedition advanced, however, his agitation 
increased. He began to talk wildly and incoherently, and to 
show manifest symptoms of derangement. 

Mr. Crooks now informed his companions that in his desolate 
wanderings through the Snake Eiver country during the pre- 
ceding winter, in which he had been accompanied by John Day, 
the poor fellow's wits had been partially unsettled by the suffer- 
ings and horrors through which they had passed, and he doubted 
whether they had ever been restored to perfect sanity. It was 
still hoped that this agitation of spirit might pass away as they 
proceeded ; but, on the contrary, it grew more and more violent. 
His comrades endeavored to divert his mind and to draw him 
into rational conversation, but he only became the more exaspe- 



PIRATICAL PASS. 86] 



rated, uttering wild and incoherent ravings. The sight of any 
of the natives put him in an absolute fury, and he would heap on 
them the most opprobrious epithets ; recollecting, no doubt, what 
he had suffered from Indian robbers. 

On the evening of the 2d of July he became absolutely fran- 
tic, and attempted to destroy himself. Being disarmed, he sank 
into quietude, and professed the greatest remorse for the crime 
he had meditated. He then pretended to sleep, and having thus 
lulled suspicion, suddenly sprang up, just before daylight, seized 
a pair of loaded pistols, and endeavored to blow out his brains. 
In his hurry he fired too high, and the balls passed over his head. 
He was instantly secured and placed under a guard in one of the 
boats. How to dispose of him was now the qu'^^'ion, as it was 
impossible to keep him with the expedition. Fortunately Mr. 
Stuart met with some Indians accustomed to trade with Astoria. 
These undertook to conduct John Day back to the factory, and 
deliver him there in safety. It was with the utmost concern that 
his comrades saw the poor fellow depart ; for, independent of his 
invaluable services as a first-rate hunter, his frank and loyal 
qualities had made him a universal favorite. It may be as well 
to add that the Indians executed their task faithfully, and landed 
John Day among his friends at Astoria; but his constitution 
was completely broken by the hardships he had undergone, and 
he died within a year. 

On the evening of the 6th of July the party arrived at the 
piratical pass of the river, and encamped at the foot of the first 
rapid. The next day, before the commencement of the portage, 
the greatest precautions were taken to guard against lurking 
treachery, or open attack. The weapons of every man were put 
in order, and his cartridge-box replenished. Each one wore a 
kind of surcoat made of the skin of the elk, reaching from his 
neck to his knees, and answering the purpose of a shirt of mail, 

16 



363 ASTORIA. 

for it was arrow proof, and could even resist a musket ball at tlio 
distance of ninety yards. Thus armed and equipped, they posted 
their forces in military style. Five of the officers took their sta- 
tions at each end of the portage, which was between three and 
four miles in length ; a number of men mounted guard at short 
distances along the heights immediately overlooking the river, 
while the residue thus protected from surprise, employed them 
selves below in dragging up the barges and canoes, and carrying 
up the goods along the narrow margin of the rapids. With these 
precautions they all passed unmolested. The only accident that 
happened was the upsetting of one of the canoes, by which some 
of the goods sunk, and others floated down the stream. The 
alertness and rapacity of the hordes which inffest these rapids, 
were immediately apparent. They pounced upon the floating 
merchandise with the keenness of regular wreckers. A bale of 
goods which landed upon one of the islands was immediately 
ripped open, one half of its contents divided among the captives, 
and the other half secreted in a lonely hut in a deep ravine. Mi*. 
Robert Stuart, however, set out in a canoe with five men and an 
interpreter, ferreted out the wreckers in their retreat, and suc- 
ceeded in wresting from them their boot}'. 

Similar precautions to those already mentioned, and to a still 
greater extent, were observed in jjassing the long narrows, and 
the' falls, where they would be exposed to the depredations of the 
chivalry of Wish-ram, and its freebooting neighborhood. In 
fact, they had scarcely set their first watch one night, when an 
alarm of " Indians !" was given. " To arms !" was the cry, and 
every man was at his post in an instant. The alarm was ex- 
plained ; a war party of Shoshonies had surprised a canoe of the 
natives just below the encampment, had murdered four men and 
two women, and it was apprehended they would attack the camp. 
The boats and canoes were immediately hauled up, a breastwork 



STOLEN ARTICLES RECOVERED. 363 



was made of them, and the packages, forming three sides' of a 
square, with the river in the rear, and thus the party remained 
fortified throughout the night. 

The dawn, however, dispelled the alarm ; the portage was 
conducted in peace ; the vagabond warriors of the vicinity hov- 
ered about them while at work, but were kept at a wary distance. 
They regarded the loads of merchandise with wistful eyes, but 
seeing the " long-beards " so formidable in number, and so well 
prepared for action, they made no attempt either by open force 
or sly pilfering to collect their usual toll, but maintained a peace- 
ful demeanor, and were afterwards rewarded for their good con- 
duct with presents of tobacco. 

Fifteen days were consumed in ascending from the foot of 
the first rapid, to the head of the falls, a distance of about eighty 
miles, but full of all kinds of obstructions. Having happily ac- 
complished these difficult portages, the party, on the 19th of July, 
arrived at a smoother part of the river, and pursued their way 
up the stream with greater speed and facility. 

They were now in the neighborhood where Mr. Crooks and 
John Day had been so perfidiously robbed and stripped a few 
months previously, when confiding in the proffered hospitality of 
a ruffian band. On landing at night, therefore, a vigilant guard 
was maintained about the camp. On the following morning a 
number of Indians made their appearance, and came prowling 
lound the party while at breakfast. To his great delight, Mr. 
Crooks recognized among them two of the miscreants by whom 
he had been robbed. They were instantly seized, bound hand 
and foot, and thrown into one of the canoes. Here they lay in 
doleful fright, expecting summary execution. Mr. Crooks, how- 
ever, was not of a revengeful disposition, and agreed to release 
the culprits as soon as the pillaged property should be restored. 
Several savages immediately started off in different directions. 



364 ASTORIA. 

and before night the rifles of Crooks and Day were produced 
several of the smaller articles pilfered from them, however, could 
not be recovered. 

The bands of the culprits were then removed, and they lost 
no time in taking their departure, still under the influence of ab- 
ject terror, and scarcely crediting their senses that they had 
escaped the merited punishment of their oiFences. 

The country on each side of the river now began to assume a 
difi'erent character. The hills, and clifi"s, and forests disappeared ; 
vast sandy plains, scantily clothed here and there with short tufts 
of grass, parched by the summer sun, stretched far away to the 
north and south. The river was occasionally obstructed with 
rocks and rapids, but often there were smooth, placid intervals, 
where the current was gentle, and the boatmen were enabled to 
ligten their labors with the assistance of the sail. 

The natives in this part of the river resided entirely on the 
northern side. They were hunters, as well as fishermen, and had 
horses in plenty. Some of these were purchased by the party, 
as provisions, and killed on the spot, though they occasionally 
found a difiiculty in procuring fuel wherewith to cook them. One 
of the greatest dangers that beset the travellers in this part of 
their expedition, was the vast number of rattlesnakes which 
infested the rocks about the rapids and portages, and on which 
the men were in danger of treading. They were often found, 
too, in quantities about the encampments. In one place, a nest 
of them lay coiled together, basking in the sun. Several guns 
loaded with shot were discharged at them, and thirty-seven killed 
and wounded. To prevent any unwelcome visits from them in 
the night, tobacco was occasionally strewed around the tents, a 
weed for which they have a very proper abhorrence. 

On the 28th of July the travellers arrived at the mouth ol 
the Wallah-Wallah, a bright, clear stream, about six feet deep. 



WALLAH-WALLAH HORSEMEN. 365 



and fifty-five yards wide, wliich flows rapidly over a bed of sand 
and gravel, and throws itself into the Columbia, a few miles be- 
low Lewis River. Here the combined parties that had thus far 
voyaged together, were to separate, each for its particular des- 
tination. 

On the banks of the Wallah-Wallah, lived the hospitable tribe 
of the same name who had succored Mr. Crooks and John Day 
in the time of their extremity. No sooner did they hear of the 
arrival of the party, than they hastened to greet them. They 
built a great bonfire on the bank of the river, before the camp, 
and men and women danced round it to the cadence of their 
songs, in which they sang the praises of the white men, and wel 
comed them to their country. 

On the following day a traiBc was commenced, to procure 
horses for such of the party as intended to proceed by land. 
The Wallah- Wallahs are an equestrian tribe. The equipments 
of their horses were rude and inconvenient. High saddles, 
roughly made of deer skin, stufi"ed with hair, which chafe the 
horse's back, and leave it raw ; wooden stirrups, with a thong of 
raw hide wrapped round them ; and for bridles they have cords 
of twisted horse-hair, which they tie round the under jaw. They 
are, like most Indians, bold but hard riders, and when on horse- 
back gallop about the most dangerous places, without fear for 
themselves, or pity for their steeds. 

From these people Mr. Stuart purchased twenty horses for 
his party ; some for the saddle, and others to transport the bag- 
gage. He was fortunate in procuring a noble animal for his own 
use, which was pi-aised by the Indians for its great speed and 
bottom, and a high price set upon it. No people understand bet- 
ter the value of a horse, than these equestrian tribes ; and no- 
where is speed a greater requisite, as they frequently engage in 
the chase of the antelope, one of the fleetest of animals. Even 



366 ASTORIA. 



after the Indian who sold this boasted horse to Mr. Stuart had 
concluded his bargain, he lingered about the animal, seeming loth 
to part from him, and to be sorry for what he had done. 

A day or two were employed by Mr. Stuart in arranging 
packages and jDack-saddles, and making other preparations for his 
long and arduous journey. His party, by the loss of John Day 
was now reduced to six, a small number for such an expedition. 
They were young men, however, full of courage, health, and good 
spirits, and stimulated, rather than appalled by danger. 

On the morning of the 31st of July, all preparations being 
concluded, Mr. Stuart and his little band mounted their steeds 
and took a farewell of their fellow-travellers, who gave them three 
hearty cheers as they set out on their dangerous journey. The 
course they took was to the southeast, towards the fated region of 
the Snake River. At an immense distance rose a chain of craggy 
mountains, which they would have to traverse ; they were the 
same among which the travellers had experienced such sufferings 
from cold during the preceding winter, and from their azure tints, 
when seen at a distance, had received the name of the Blue 
Mountains. 



SUNBURNT HILLS. 867 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

In retracing the route which had proved so disastrous to Mr. 
Hunt's party during the preceding winter, Mr. Stuart had trusted, 
in the present more favorable season, to find easy travelling and 
abundant supplies. On these great wastes and wilds, however, 
each season has its jjeculiar hardships. The travellers had not 
proceeded far, before they found themselves among naked and 
arid hills, with a soil composed of sand and clay, baked and brit- 
tle, that to all appearance had never been visited by the dews of 
heaven. 

Not a spring, or pool, or running stream was to be seen ; the 
sunburnt country was seamed and cut up by dry ravines, the beds 
of winter torrents serving only to balk the hopes of man and 
beast, with the sight of dusty cliauuels where water had once 
poured along in floods. 

For a long summer day they continued onward without halting , 
a burning sky above their heads, a parched desert beneath their 
feet, with just wind enough to raise the light sand from the knolls 
and envelope them in stifling clouds. The sufi'erings from thirst 
became intense ; a fine young dog, their only companion of the 
kind, gave out, and expired. Evening drew on without any pros- 
pect of relief, and they were almost reduced to despair, when 
they descried something that looked like a fringe of forest, along 
the horizon. All were inspired with new hope, for they knew that 
on these arid wastes, in the neighborhood of trees, there is always 
water. 



368 ASTORIA. 

They now quickened their pace ; the horses seemed to under 
stand their motives, and to partake of their anticipations ; for, 
though before almost ready to give out, they now required neither 
whip nor spur. "With all their exertions, it was late in the night 
before they drew near to the trees. As they approached, they 
card, with transport, the rippling of a shallow stream. No sooner 
did the refreshing sound reach the ears of the horses, than the poor 
animals snuffed the air, rushed forward with ungovernable eager- 
ness, and plunging their muzzles into the water, drank until they 
seemed in danger of bursting. Their riders had but little more 
discretion, and required repeated draughts to quench their ex 
cessive thirst. Their weary march that day had been forty-five 
miles, over a tract that might rival the deserts of Africa for 
aridity. Indeed, the sufferings of the traveller on these Ameri- 
can deserts, is frequently more severe than in the wastes oi 
Africa or Asia, from being less habituated and prepared to cope 
with them. 

On the banks of this blessed stream the travellers encamped 
for the night ; and so great had been their fatigue, and so sound 
and sweet was their sleep, that it was a late hour the next morn- 
ing before they awoke. They now recognized the little river to 
be the Umatalla, the same on the banks of which Mr. Hunt and 
his followers had arrived after their painful struggle through the 
Blae Mountains, and experienced such a kind relief in the 
friendly jamp of the Sciatogas. 

That range of Blue Mountains now extended in the distance 
before them ; they were the same among which poor Michael 
Carriere had perished. They form the southeast boundary of 
the great plains along the Columbia, dividing the waters of its 
main stream from those of Lewis River. They are, in fact, a 
part of a long chain, which stretches over a great extent of 
country, and includes in its links the Snake River Mountains. 



THE BLUE MOUNTAINS. 369 



The day was somewhat advanced before the travellers left 
the shady banks of the Umatalla. Their route gradually took 
them among the Blue Mountains, which assumed the most 
rugged aspect on a near approach. They were shagged with 
dense and gloomy forests, and cut up by deep and precipitous 
ravines, extremely toilsome to the horses. Sometimes the trav- 
ellers had to follow the course of some brawling stream, with a 
broken, rocky bed, which the shouldering cliffs and promontories 
on either side, obliged them frequently to cross and recross. For 
some miles they struggled forward through these savage and 
darkly wooded defiles, when all at once the whole landscape 
changed, as if by magic. The rude mountains and rugged 
ravines softened into beautiful hills, and intervening meadows, 
with rivulets winding through fresh herbage, and sparkling and 
murmuring over gravelly beds, the whole forming a verdant and 
pastoral scene, which derived additional charms from being 
locked up in the bosom of such a hard-hearted region. 

Emerging from the chain of Blue Mountains, they descended 
upon a vast plain, almost a dead level, sixty miles in circumfe- 
rence, of excellent soil, with fine streams meandering through it 
in every direction, their courses marked out in the wide landscape 
by serpentine lines of cotton-wood trees, and willows, which 
fringed their banks, and afforded sustenance to great numbers 
of beavers and otters. 

In traversing this plain, they passed, close to the skirts of 
the hills, a great pool of water, three hundred yards in circumfe- 
rence, fed by a sulphur spring, about ten feet in diameter, boiling 
up in one corner. The vapor from this pool was extremely 
noisome, and tainted the air for a considerable distance. The 
place was much frequented by elk, which were found in consider- 
able numbers in the adjacent mountains, and their horns, shed in 
the spring time, were strewed in every direction around the pond. 



370 ASTORIA. 

On the 20 th of August, they reached the main body of Wood- 
pile Creek, the same stream which Mr. Hunt had ascended in the 
preceding year, shortly after his separation from Mr. Crooks. 

On the banks of this stream they saw a herd of nineteen 
antelopes ; a sight so unusual in that part of the country, that at 
first they doubted the evidence of their senses. They tried by 
every means to get within shot of them, but they were too shy 
and fleet, and after alternately bounding to a distance, and then 
stopping to gaze with capricious curiosity at the hunter, they at 
length scampered out of sight. 

On the 12th of -August, the travellers arrived on the banks 
of Snake River, the scene of so many trials and mishaps to all of 
the present party excepting Mr. Stuart. They struck the river 
just above the place where it entered the mountains, through 
which Messrs. Stuart and Crooks had vainly endeavored to find 
a passage. The river was here a rapid stream, four hundred 
yards in width, with high sandy banks, and here and there a 
scanty growth of willow. Up the southern side of the river they 
now bent their course, intending to visit the caches made by Mr. 
Hunt at the Caldron Linn. 

On the second evening, a solitary Snake Indian visited their 
camp, at a late hour, and informed them that there was a white 
man residing at one of the cantonments of his tribe, about a 
day's journey higher up the river. It was immediately con- 
cluded, that he must be one of the poor fellows of Mr. Hunt's 
party, who had given out, exhausted by hunger and fatigue, in 
the wretched journey of the preceding winter. All present, who 
had borne a part in the sufferings of that journey, were eager 
now to press forward, and bring I'elief to a lost comrade. Early 
the next morning, therefore, they pushed forward with unusual 
alacrity. For two days, however, did they travel without being 
able to find any trace of such a straggler. 



NEWS OF STRAGGLERS. 371 



On the evening of the second day, they arrived at a place 
where a large river came in from the east, which was renowned 
anioDg all the wandering hordes of the Snake nation for its 
salmon fishery, that fish being taken in incredible quantities in 
this neighborhood. Here, therefore, during the fishing season, 
the Snake Indians resort from far and near, to lay in their stock 
of salmon, which, with esculent roots, forms the principal food of 
the inhabitants of these barren regions. 

On the bank of a small stream emptying into Snake Biver at 
this place, Mr. Stuart found an encampment of Shoshonies. He 
made the usual inquiry of them concerning the white man of 
whom he had received intelligence. No such person was dwell- 
ing among them, but they said there were white men residing 
with some of their nation on the opposite side of the river. This 
was still more animating information. Mr. Crooks now hoped 
that these might be the men of his party, who, disheartened by 
perils and hardships, had preferred to remain among the Indians 
Others thought they might be Mr. Miller and the hunters who 
had left the main body at Henry's Fort, to trap among the 
mountain streams. Mr. Stuart halted, therefore, in the neigh- 
borhood of the Shoshonie lodges, and sent an Indian across the 
river to seek out the white men in question, and briug them to 
his camp. 

The travellers passed a restless, miserable night. Tlie place 
swarmed with myriads of musquitoes, which, with their stings 
and their music, set all sleep at defiance. The morning dawn 
found them in a feverish, irritable mood, and their spleen was 
completely aroused by the return of the Indian without any 
intelligence of the white men. They now considered themselves 
the dupes of Indian falsehoods, and resolved to put no more 
confidence in Snakes. They soon, however, forgot this resolu- 
tion. In the course of the morning, an Indian came galloping 



372 • ASTORIA. 

after them ; Mr. Stuart waited to receive him ; no sooner had ho 
come up, than, dismounting and throwing his arms round the neck 
of Mr. Stuart's horse, he began to kiss and caress the animal, 
who, on his part, seemed by no means surprised or displeased 
with his salutation. Mr. Stuart, who valued his horse highly, 
was somewhat annoyed by these transports ; the cause of them 
was soon explained. The Snake said the horse had belonged to 
him, and been the best in his posesssion, and that it had been 
stolen by the Wallah- Wallahs. Mr. Stuart was by no means 
pleased with this recognition of his steed, nor disposed to admit 
any claim on the part of its ancient owner. In fact, it was a 
noble animal, admirably shaped, of free and generous spirit, 
graceful in movement, and fleet as an antelope. It was his 
intention, if possible, to take the horse to New- York, and present 
him to Mr. Astor. 

In the meantime, some of the party came up, and immedi- 
ately recognized in the Snake an old friend and ally. He was, 
in fact, one of the two guides who had conducted Mr. Hunt's 
party, in the preceding autumn, across Mad River Mountain to 
Fort Henry, and who subsequently departed with Mr. Miller and 
his fellow trappers, to conduct them to a good trapping ground. 
The reader may recollect that these two trusty Snakes were 
engaged by Mr. Hunt to return and take charge of the horses 
which the party intended to leave at Fort Henry, when they 
should embark in canoes. 

The party now crowded round the Snake, and began to ques- 
tion him with eagerness. His replies were somewhat vague, and 
but partially understood. He told a long story about the horses, 
from which it appeared that they had been stolen by various wan- 
dering bands, and scattered in different directions. The cache, 
too, had been plundered, and the saddles and other equipments 
carried off. His information concerning Mr. Miller and his com 



THE SNAKE OF MAD RIVER. 373 



rades, was not more satisfactory. They had trapped for some 
time about the upper streams, but had fallen into the hands of a 
marauding party of Crows, who had robbed them of horses, 
weapons, and every thing. 

Further questioning brought forth further intelligence, but 
all of a disastrous kind. About ten days previously, he had met 
with three other white men, in very miserable plight, having one 
horse each, and but one rifle among them. They also had been 
l^lundered and maltreated by the Crows, those univei'sal free- 
booters. The Snake endeavored to pronounce the names of these 
three men, and as far as his imperfect sounds could be understood, 
they were supposed to be three of the party of four hunters, viz. 
Carson, St. Michael, Detaye and Delaunay, who were detached 
from Mr. Hunt's party on the 28th of September, to trap 
beaver on the head waters of the Columbia. 

In the course of conversation, the Indian informed them that 
the route by which Mr. Hunt had crossed the Rocky Mountains, 
was very bad and circuitous, and that he knew one much shorter 
and easier. Mr. Stuart urged him to accompany them as guide, 
promising to reward him with a pistol with powder and ball, a 
knife, an awl, some blue beads, a blanket, and a looking-glass. 
Such a catalogue of riches was too tempting to be resisted ; be- 
side the poor Snake languished after the prairies ; he was tired, he 
said, of salmon, and longed for buffalo meat, and to have a grand 
buffalo hunt beyond the mountains. He departed, therefore, 
with all speed, to get his arms and equipments for the journey, 
promising to rejoin the party the next day. He kept his word, 
and, as he no longer said any thing to Mr. Stuart on the subject 
of the pet horse, they journeyed very harmoniously together ; 
though now and then, the Snake would regard his quondam steed 
with a wistful eye. 

They had not travelled many miles, when they came to a 



374 ASTORIA. 

great bend in the river. Here the Snake informed them that, by 
cutting across the hills they would save many miles of distance. 
The route across, however, would be a good day's journey. Ho 
advised them, therefore, to encamp here for the night, and set oflP 
early in the morning. They took his advice, though they had 
come but nine miles that day. 

On the following morning they rose, bright and Early, to 
ascend the hills. On mustering their little party, the guide was 
missing. They supposed him to be somewhere in the neighbor- 
hood, and proceeded to collect the horses. The vaunted steed of 
Mr. Stuart was not to be fovind. A suspicion flashed upon his 
mind. Search for the horse of the Snake ! — He likewise was 
gone — the tracks of two horses, one after the other, were found, 
making off from the camp. They appeared as if one horse had 
been mounted, and the other led. They were traced for a few 
miles above *he camp, until they both crossed the river. It was 
plain the Snake had taken an Indian mode of recovering his horse, 
having quietly decamped with him in the night. 

New vows were made never more to trust in Snakes, or any 
other Indians. It was determined, also, to maintain, hereafter, 
the strictest vigilance over their horses, dividing the night into 
three watches, and one person mounting guard at a time. They 
resolved, also, to keep along the river, instead of taking the short 
cut res jmmended by the fugitive Snake, whom they now set 
down for a thorough deceiver. The heat of the weathet was 
oppressive, and their horses were, at times, rendered almost 
frantic by the stings of the prairie flies. The nights were suffo- 
cating, and it was almost impossible to sleep, from the swarms of 
musquitoes. 

On the 20 th of August they resumed their march, keeping 
along the prairie parallel to Snake River. The day was sultry, 
and some of the party, being parched with thirst, left the line of 



MEETING WITH LOST COMRADES. 375 



jnarcli, and scrambled down the bank of the river to drink. The 
bank was overhung with wiHows, beneath which, to their sur- 
prise, thej beheld a man fishing. No sooner did he see them, 
than he uttered an exclamation of joy. It proved to be John 
Hoback, one of their lost comrades. They had scarcely ex- 
changed greetings, when three other men came out from among 
the willows. They were Joseph Miller, Jacob Kezner, and 
Eobinson, the scalped Kentuckian, the veteran of the Bloody 
Grround. 

The reader will perhaps recollect the abrupit and wilful man- 
ner in which Mr. Miller threw up his interest as a partner of the 
company, and departed from Fort Henry, in company with these 
three trappers, and a fourth, named Cass. He may likewise 
recognize in Robinson, Rezner, and Hoback, the trio of Kentucky 
hunter?^ who had originally been in the service of Mr. Henry, 
and whom Mr. Hunt found floating down the Missouri, on their 
way homeward ; and prevailed upon, once more, to cross the 
mountains. The haggard looks and naked condition of these 
men proved how much they had suifered. After leaving Mr. 
Hunt's party, they had made their way about two hundred miles 
to the southward, where they trapped beaver on a river which, 
according to their account, discharged itself into the ocean to the 
south of the Columbia, but which we apprehend to be Bear 
River, a stream emptying itself into Lake Bonneville, an immense 
body of salt water, west of the Rocky Mountains. 

Having collected a considerable quantity of beaver skins, 
they made them into packs, loaded their horses, and steered two 
hundred miles due east, Here they came upon an encampment 
of sixty lodges of Arapahays, an outlawed bar d of the Arapahoes, 
and notorious robbers. These fell upon the poor trappers; 
robbed them of their peltries, most of their clothing, and several 
of their horses. They were glad to escape with their lives, and 



376 ASTORIA. 

without being entiiely stripped, and after proceeding about fifty 
miles further, made their halt for the winter. 

Early in the spring they resumed their wayfaring, but were 
unluckily overtaken by the same ruffian horde, who levied still 
further contributions, and carried off the remainder of their 
horses, excepting two. With these they continued on, suffering 
the greatest hardships. They still retained rifles and ammuni- 
tion, but were in a desert country, where neither bird nor beast 
was to be found. Their only chance was to keep along the 
rivers and subsist by fishing ; but, at times, no fish were to be 
taken, and then their sufferings were horrible. One of their 
horses was stolen among the mountains by the Snake Indians ; 
the other, they said, was carried off by Cass, who, according to 
their account, " villainously left them in their extremities." 
Certain dark doubts and surmises were afterwards circulated 
concerning the fate of that poor fellow, which, if true, showed to 
what a desperate state of famine his comrades had been reduced. 

Being now completely xmhorsed, Mr. Miller and his three 
companions wandered on foot for several hundred miles, enduring 
hunger, thirst, and fatigue, while traversing the barren wastes 
which abound beyond the Rocky Mountains. At the time they 
were discovered by Mr. Stuart's party, they were almost famished, 
and were fishing for a precarious meal. Had Mr. Stuart made 
the short cut across the hills, avoidiug this bend of the river, or 
had not some of his party accidentally gone down to the margin 
of the stream to drink, these poor wanderers might have remained 
undiscovered, and have perished in the wilderness. Nothing 
could exceed their joy on thus meeting with their old comrades, 
or the heartiness with which they were welcomed. All hands im- 
mediately encamped ; and the slender stores of the party were 
ransacked to furnish out a suitable regale. 

The next morning they all sot out together ; Mr Miller and 



THE SALMON FALLS. 377 



his comrades being resolved to give up the life of a trapper, and 
accompany Mr. Stuart back to St. Louis. 

For several days they kept along the course of Snake River, 
occasionally making short cuts across hills and promontories, 
where there were bends in the stream. In their way they passed 
several camps of Shoshonies, from some of whom they procured 
salmon, but in general they were too wretchedly poor to furnish 
any thing. It was the wish of Mr. Stuart to purchase horses for 
the recent recruits of his party ; but the Indians could not be 
prcA'ailed upon to part with any, alleging that they had not 
enough for their own use. 

On the 25th of August they reached a great fishing place, to 
which they gave the name of the Salmon Falls. Here there is a 
perpendicular fall of twenty feet on the north side of the river, 
while on the south side there is a succession of rapids. The 
salmon are taken here in incredible quantities, as they attempt to 
shoot the falls. It was now a favorable season, and there were 
about one hundred lodges of Shoshonies busily engaged killing 
and drying fish. The salmon begin to leap, shortly after sunrise. 
At this time the Indians swim to the centre of the falls, where 
some station themselves on rocks, and others stand to their waists 
in the water, all armed with spears, with which they assail the 
salmon as they attempt to leap, or fall back exhausted. It is an 
incessant slaughter, so great is the throng of the fish. 

The construction of the spears thus used is peculiar. The 
head is a straight piece of elk horn, about seven inches long ; on 
the point of which an artificial barb is made fast, with twine well 
gummed. The head is stuck on the end of the shaft, a very long 
pole of willow, to which it is likewise connected by a strong cord, 
a few inches in length. When the spearsman makes a sure blow, 
he often strikes the head of the spear through the body of the 
fish. It comes ofi" easily, and leaves the salmon struggling with 



378 ASTORIA. 

the string through its body, while the pole is still held by the 
spearsman. Were it not for the precaution of the string, the 
willow shaft would be snapped by the struggles and the weight 
of the fish. Mr. Miller, in the course of his wanderings, had 
been at these falls, and had seen several thousand salmon taken 
in the course of one afternoon. He declared that he had seen a 
salmon leap a distance of about thirty feet, from the commence- 
ment of the foam at the foot of the fall, completely to the top. 

Having purchased a good supply of salmon from the fisher- 
men, the party resumed their journey, and on the twenty-ninth, 
arrived at the Caldron Linn ; the eventful scene of the preceding 
autumn. Here, the first thing that met their eyes, was a me- 
mento of the perplexities of that period ; the wreck of a canoe, 
lodged between two ledges of rocks. They endeavored to get 
down to it, but the river banks were too high and precipitous. 

They now proceeded to that part of the neighborhood where 
Mr. Hunt and his party had made the caches, intending to take 
from them such articles as belonged to Mr. Crooks, M'Lellan, 
and the Canadians. On reaching the spot, they found, to their 
astonishment, six of the caches open and rifled of their contents, 
excepting a few books which lay scattered about the vicinity. 
They had the ajjpearance of having been plundered in the course 
of the summer. There were tracks of wolves in every direction, to 
and from the holes, from which Mr. Stuart concluded that these 
animals had first been attracted to the place by the smell of the 
skins contained in the caches, which they had probably torn up, 
and that their tracks had betrayed the secret to the Indians. 

The three remaining caches had not been molested : they con- 
tained a few dry goods, some ammunition, and a number of beavei 
traps. From these Mr. Stuart took whatever was requisite for 
his party ; he then deposited within them all his superfluous bag- 
gage, and all the books and papers scattered around ; the holes 



THE PERSEVERING TRAPPERS. 379 



were then carefully closed up, and all traces of them effaced. 
And here we have to record another instance of the indomitable 
spirit of the western trappers. No sooner did the trio of Ken- 
tucky hunters, Robinson, Rezner, and Hoback, find that they 
could once more be fitted out for a campaign of beaver-trapping, 
than they forgot all that they had suffered, and determined upon 
another trial of their fortunes ; preferring to take their qhance 
in the wilderness, rather than return home ragged and penniless. 
As to Ml-. Miller, he declared his curiosity and his desire of trav- 
elling through the Indian countries fully satisfied ; he adhered 
to his determination, therefore, to keep on with the" party to St. 
Louis, and to return to the bosom of civilized society. 

The three hunters, therefore, Robinson, Rezner, and Hoback, 
were furnished, as far as the caches and the means of Mr. Stuart's 
party afforded, with the requisite munitions and equipments for 
a " two 3'ears' hunt ;" but as their fitting out was yet incomplete, 
they resolved to wait in this neighborhood until Mr. Reed should 
arrive ; whose arrival might soon be expected, as he was to set 
out for the caches about twenty days after Mr. Stuart parted 
with him at the Wallah-Wallah River. 

Mr. Stuart gave in charge to Robinson a letter to Mr. Reed, 
reporting his safe journey thus far, and the stale in which he had 
found the caches. A duplicate of this letter he elevated on a 
pole, and set it up near the place of deposit. 

All things being thus arranged, Mr. Stuart and his little 
band, now seven in number, took leave of the three hardy trap- 
pers, wishing them all possible success in their lonely and peril- 
ous sojourn in the wilderness ; and we, in like manner, shall leave 
them to their fortunes, promising to take them up again at some 
future page, and to close the story of their persevering ar^d ill- 
fated enterprise. 



S80 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XLV. 

On the 1st of September, Mr. Stuart and his companions resumed 
their journey, bending their course eastward, along the course of 
Snake River. As they advanced, the country opened. The bills 
which had hemmed in the river receded on either hand, and 
great sandy and dusty plains extended before them. Occasion- 
ally there were intervals of pasturage, and the banks of the river 
were fringed with willows and cotton-wood, so that its course 
might be traced from the hill tops, winding under an umbrageous 
covert, through a wide sunburnt landscape. The soil, however, 
was generally poor ; there was in some places a miserable growth 
of wormwood, and a plant called saltweed, resembling penny- 
royal ; but the summer heat had parched the plains, and left 
but little pasturage. The game too had disappeared. The 
hunter looked in vain over the lifeless landscape ; now and then 
a few antelope might be seen, but not within reach of the rifle. 
We forbear to follow the travellers in a week's wandering over 
these barren wastes, where they suffered much from hunger ; 
having to depend upon a few fish from the streams, and now and 
then a little dried salmon, or a dog, procured from some forlorn 
lodge of Shoshonies. 

Tired of these cheerless wastes, they left the banks of Snake 
River on the 7th of September, under guidance of Mr. Miller, 
who having acquired some knowledge of the country during his 
trapping campaign, undertook to conduct them across the moun 
tains by a better route than that by Fort Henry, and one more 



A CROW GIAMT AND HIS GANG. 381 



out of tlie range of the Blackfeet. He proved, however, but an 
indifferent guide, and they soon became bewildered among rug- 
ged hills and unknown streams, and burnt and barren prairies. 

At length they came to a river on which Mr. Miller had 
trapped, and to which they gave his name ; though, as before 
observed, we presume it to be the same called Bear River, which 
empties itself into Lake Bonneville. Up this river and its 
branches they kept for two or three days, supporting themselves 
precariously upon fish. They soon found that they were in a 
dangerous neighborhood. On the 12th of September, having 
encamped early, they sallied forth with their rods to angle for 
their supper. On returning, they beheld a number of Indians 
prowling about their camp, whom, to their infinite disquiet, they 
soon perceived to be Upsarokas, or Crows. Their chief came 
forward with a confident air. He was a dark herculean fellow, 
full six feet four inches in height, with a mingled air of the 
ruffian and the rogue. He conducted himself peaceably, how- 
ever, and dispatched some of his people to their camp, which was 
somewhere in the neighborhood, from whence they returned with 
a most acceptable supply of buffalo meat. He now signified to 
Mr. Stuart that he was going to trade with the Snakes who 
reside on the west base of the mountains, below Henry's Fort. 
Here they cultivate a delicate kind of tobacco, much esteemed 
and sought after by the mountain tribes. There was something 
sinister, however, in the look of this Indian, that inspired dis- 
trust. By degrees, the number of his people increased, until, by 
midnight, there were twenty-one of them about the camp, who 
began to be impudent and troublesome. The greatest uneasiness 
was now felt for the safety of the horses and effects, and every 
one kept vigilant watch throughout the night. 

The morning dawned, however, without any unpleasant occur- 
rence, and Mr. Stuart, having purchased all the buffalo meat 



382 ASTORIA. 

that the Crows had to spare, prepared to depart. His Indian 
acquaintance, however, were disposed for further dealings ; and, 
above all, anxious for a supply of gunpowder, for which they 
offered horses in exchange. Mr. Stuart declined to furnish them 
with the dangerous commodity. They became more importunate 
in their solicitations, until they met with a flat refusal. 

The gigantic chief now stepped forward, assumed a swelling 
air, and, slapping himself upon the breast, gave Mr. Crooks to 
understand that he was a chief of great power and importance. 
He signified, further, that it was customary for great chiefs when 
they met, to make each other presents. He requested, therefore, 
that Mr. Stuart would alight, and give him the horse upon which 
he was mounted. This was a noble animal, of one of the wild 
races of the prairies ; on which Mr. Stuart set great value ; he, 
of course, shook his head at the request of the Crow dignitary. 
Upon this the latter strode up to him, and taking hold of him, 
moved him backwards and forwards in his saddle, as if to make 
him feel that he was a mere child within his grasp. Mr. Stuart 
preserved his calmness, and still shook his head. The chief then 
seized the bridle, and gave it a jerk that startled the horse, and 
nearly brought the rider to the ground. Mr. Stuart instantly 
drew forth a pistol, and presented it at the head of the bully-ruffian. 
In a twinkling, his swaggering was at an end, and he dodged 
behind his horse to escape the expected shot. As his subject 
Crows gazed on the affray from a little distance, Mr. Stuart 
ordered his men to level their rifles at them, but not to fire. The 
whole crew scampered among the bushes, and throwing them- 
selves upon the ground, vanished fi'om sight. 

The chieftain thus left alone, was confounded for an instant ; 
but, recovering himself, with true Indian shrewdness, burst into 
a loud laugh, and affected to turn off the whole matter as a piece 
of pleasantry. Mr. Stuart by no means relished such equivocal 



CROW SIGNALS. 383 



joking, but it was not liis policy to get into a quarrel ; so he joined 
with the best grace he could assume, in the merriment^of the 
jocular giant ; and, to console the latter for the refusal of the 
horse, made him a present of twenty charges of powder. They 
parted, according to all outward pi'ofessions, the best friends in 
the world ; it was evident, however, that nothing but the small- 
ness of his own force, and the martial array and alertness of the 
white men, had prevented the Crow chief from proceeding to 
open OTitrage. As it was, his worthy followers, in the course of 
their brief interview, had contrived to purloin a bag containing 
almost all the culinary utensils of the party. 

The travellers kept on their way due east, over a chain of 
hills. The recent rencontre showed them that they were now in 
a land of danger, subject to the wide roamings of a predacious 
tribe ; nor, in fact, had they gone many miles, before they beheld 
sights calculated to inspire anxiety and alarm. From the sum- 
mits of some of the loftiest mountains, in different directions, 
columns of smoke began to rise. These they concluded to be 
signals made by the runners of the Crow chieftain, to summon 
the stragglers of his band, so as to pursue them with greater 
force. Signals of this kind, made by out-runners from one cen- 
tral point, will rouse a»wide circuit of the mountains in a won- 
derfully short space of time ; and bring the straggling hunters 
and warriors to the standard of their chieftain. 

To keep as much as possible out of the way of these free- 
booters, Mr. Stuart altered his course to the north, and, quitting 
the main stream of Miller's River, kept up a large branch that 
came in from the mountains. Here they encamped, after a 
fatiguing march of twenty-five miles. As the night drew on, the 
horses were hobbled or fettered, and tethered close to the camp • 
a vigilant watch was maintained until morning, and every one 
slept with his rifle on his arm. 



384 ASTORIA. 

At sunrise, they were again on the march, still keeping to the 
north.. They soon began to ascend the mountains, and occasion- 
ally had wide prospects over the surrounding country. Not a 
sign of a Crow was to he seen ; but this did not assure them of 
their security, well knowing the perseverance of these savages in 
dogging any party they intend to rob, and the stealthy way in 
which they can conceal their movements, keeping along ravines 
and defiles. After a mountain scramble of twenty-one miles, 
they encamped on the margin of a stream running to the north. 

In the evening there was an alarm of Indians, and every one 
was instantly on the alert. They proved to be three miserable 
Snakes, who were no sooner informed that a band of Crows was 
prowling in the neighborhood, than they made off with great 
signs of consternation. 

A couple more of weary days and watchful nights brought 
them to a strong and rapid stream, running due north, which 
they concluded to be one of the upper branches of Snake River. 
It was probably the same since called Salt River. They deter- 
mined to bend their course down this river, as it would take 
them still further out of the dangerous neighborhood of the 
Crows. They then would strike upon Mr. Hunt's track of the 
preceding autumn, and retrace it across the mountains. The 
attempt to find a better route under guidance of Mr. Miller had 
cost them a large bend to the south ; in resuming Mr. Hunt's 
track, they would at least be sure of their road. They accor- 
dingly turned down along the course of this stream, and at the 
end of three days' journey, came to where it was joined by a 
larger river, and assumed a more impetuous character, raging 
and roaring among rocks and precipices. It proved, in fact, to 
be Mad River, already noted in the expedition of Mr. Hunt. On 
the banks of this river, they encamped on the 18th of September, 
at an early hour. 



A SURPRISE. 886 



Six days had now elapsed since their interview with the 
Crows; during that time they had come nearly a hundred and fifty 
miles to the north and west, without seeing any signs of those 
marauders. They considered themselves, therefore, beyond the 
reach of molestation, and began to relax in their vigilance, linger- 
ing occasionally for part of a day, where there was good pasturage 
The poor horses needed repose. They had been urged on, by 
forced marches, over rugged heights, among rocks and fallen 
timber, or over low swampy valleys, inundated by the labors of 
the beaver. These industrious animals abounded in all the 
mountain streams, and water courses, wherever there were 
willows for their subsistence. Many of them they had so com- 
pletely dammed up as to inundate the low grounds, making 
shallow pools or lakes, and extensive quagmires : by which the 
route of the travellers was often impeded. 

On the 19th of September, they rose at early dawn ; some 
began to prepare breakfast, and others to arrange the packs pre- 
paratory to a march. The horses had been hobbled, but left at 
large to graze upon the adjacent pasture. Mr. Stuart was on the 
bank of a river, at a short distance from the camp, when he heard 
the alarm cry — " Indians ! Indians ! — to arms ! to arms !" 

A mounted Crow galloped past the camp, bearing a red flag. 
He reined his steed on the summit of a neighboring knoll, and 
waved his flaring banner. A diabolical yell now broke forth on 
the opposite side of the camp, beyond where the horses were 
grazing, and a small troop of savages came galloping up, whoop- 
ing and making a terrific clamor. The horses took fright, and 
dashed across the camp in the direction of the standard-bearer, 
attracted by his waving flag. He instantly put spurs to his steed, 
and scoured ofi", followed by the panic-stricken herd, their fright 
being increased by the yells of the savages in their rear. 

At the first alarm, Mr. Stuart and his comrades had seized 

17 



386 ASTORIA. 

their rifles, and attempted to cut off the Indians, who were pur 
suing the horses. Their attention was instantly distracted by 
whoops and yells in an opposite direction. Thsy now appre- 
hended that a reserve party was about to carry off their baggage. 
They ran to secure it. The reserve party, however, galloped by, 
whooping and yelling in triumph and derision. The last of them 
proved to be their commander, the identical giant joker already 
mentioned. He was not cast in the stern poetical mould of fash- 
ionable Indian heroism, but on the contrary, was grievously given 
to vulgar jocularity. As he passed Mr. Stuart and his compan- 
ions, he checked his horse, raised himself in the saddle, and clap- 
ping his hand on the most insulting part of his body, uttered 
some jeering words, which, fortunately for their delicacy, they 
could not understand. The rifle of Ben Jones was levelled in 
an instant, and he was on the point of whizzing a bullet into the 
target so tauntingly displayed. • " Not for your life ! not for 
your life !" exclaimed Mr. Stuart, " you will bring destruction 
on us all !" 

It was hard to restrain honest Ben, when the mark was so 
fair and the insult so foul. " Oh, Mr. Stuart," exclaimed he, 
" only let me have one crack at the infernal rascal, and you may 
keep all the pay that is due to me." 

" By heaven, if you fire," cried Mr. Stuart, " I'll blow your 
brains out. 

By this time the Indian was far out of reach, and had rejoined 
his men, and the whole dare-devil band, with the captured horses, 
scuttled off along the defiles, their red fiag flaunting over head, 
and the locks echoing to their whoops and yells, and demoniao 
laughter. 

The unhorsed travellers gazed after them in silent mortifica- 
tion and despair ; yet Mr. Stuart could not but admire the style 
and spirit with which the whole exploit had been managed, and 



INDIAN LURKERS. 387 



pronounced it one of the most daring and intrepid actions he had 
ever heard of among Indians. The whole number of the Crows 
did not exceed twenty. In this way a small gang of lurkers will 
hurry off the cavalry of a large war party, for when once a drove 
of horses are seized with a panic, they become frantic, and nothing 
short of broken necks can stop them. 

No one was more annoyed by this unfortunate occurrence 
than Ben Jones. He declared he would actually have given his 
whole arrears of pay, amounting to upwards of a year's wages, 
rather than be balked of such a capital shot. Mr. Stuart, how- 
ever, represented what might have been the consequence of so 
rash an act. Life for life is the Indian maxim. The whole tribe 
would have made common cause in avenging the death of a war- 
rior. The party were but seven dismounted men, with a wide 
mountain region to traverse, infested by these people, and which 
might all be roused by signal fires. In fact, the conduct of the 
band of marauders in question, showed the perseverance of sav- 
ages when once they have fixed their minds upon a project. 
These fellows had evidently been silently and secretly dogging 
the party for a week past, and a distance of a hundred and fifty 
miles, keeping out of sight by day, lurking about the encampment 
at night, watching all their movements, and waiting for a favora- 
ble moment when they should be off their guard. The menace 
of Mr. Stuart, in their first interview, to shoot the giant chief 
with his pistol, and the fright caused among the warriors by pre- 
senting the rifles, had probably added the stimulus of pique to 
their usual horse-stealing propensities, and in this mood of mind 
they would doubtless have followed the party throughout their 
whole course over the Rocky Mountains, rather than be diap- 
pointed in their scheme. 



388 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

Few reverses in this changeful world are more complete and 
disheartening than that of a traveller, suddenly unhorsed, in the 
midst of the wilderness. Our unfortunate travellers contem- 
plated their situation, for a time, in perfect dismay. A long 
journey over rugged mountains and immeasurable plains lay 
before them, which they must painfully perform on foot, and 
every thing necessary for subsistence or defence must be carried 
on their shoulders. Their dismay, however, was but transient, 
and they immediately set to work, with that prompt expediency 
produced by the exigencies of the wilderness, to fit themselves 
for the change in their condition. 

Their first attention was to select from their baggage such 
articles as were indispensable to their journey ; to make them up 
into convenient packs, and to deposit the residue in caches. The 
whole day was consumed in these occupations ; at night, they 
made a scanty meal of their remaining provisions, and lay down 
to sleep with heavy hearts. In the morning, they were up and 
about at an early hour, and began to prepare their knapsacks for 
a march, while Ben Jones repaired to an old beaver trap which 
he had set in the river bank at some little distance from the 
camp. He was rejoiced to find a middle-sized beaver there, suffi- 
cient for a morning's meal to his hungry comrades. On his way 
back with his prize, he observed two heads peering over the edge 
of an impending clifi", several hundred feet high, which he sup- 
posed to be a couple of wolves. Aa he continued on, he now and 



PRYING SPIES— A BONFIRE. 389 



then cast his eye up ; the heads were still there, looking down 
with fixed and watchful gaze. A susjjicion now flashed across 
his mind that they might be Indian scouts ; and, had they not 
been far above the reach of his rifle, he would undoubtedly have 
regaled them with a shot. 

On arriving at the camp, he directed the attention of his 
comrades to these aerial observers. The same idea was at first 
entertained, that they were wolves ; but their immovable watch 
fulness soon satisfied every one that they were Indians. It was 
concluded that they were watching the movements of the party, 
to discover their place of concealment of such articles as they 
would be compelled to leave behind. There was no likelihood 
that the caches would escape the search of such keen eyes and 
experienced rummagers, and the idea was intolerable, that any 
more booty should fall into their hands. To disappoint them, 
therefore, the travellei-s stripped the caches of the articles depo- 
sited there, and collecting together every thing that they could 
not carry away with them, made a bonfire of all that would burn, 
and threw the rest into the river. There was a forlorn satisfac- 
tion in thus balking the Crows, by the destruction of their own 
property ; and, having thus gratified their pique, they shouldered 
their packs, about ten o'clock in the morning, and set out on 
their pedestrian wayfaring. 

The route they took was down along the banks of Mad River. 
This stream makes its way through the defiles of the mountains, 
into the plain below Fort Henry, where it terminates in Snake 
River. Mr. Stuart was in hopes of meeting with Snake encamp- 
ments in the plain, where he might procure a couple of horses to 
transport the baggage. In such case, he intended to resume hi? 
eastern course across the mountains, and endeavor to reach 
the Cheyenne River before winter. Should he fail, however, of 
obtaining horses, he would probably be compelled to winter on 



390 ASTORIA. 



the Pacific side of the mountains, somewhere on the head waters 
of the Spanish or Colorado River. 

With all the care that had been observed in taking nothing 
with them that was not absolutely necessary, the poor pedestrians 
were heavily laden, and their burdens added to the fatigues of 
their rugged road. They suffered much, too, from hunger. The 
trout they caught were too poor to yield much noui ishment ; 
their main dependence, therefore, was upon an old beaver trap, 
which they had providentially retained. Whenever they were 
fortunate enough to entrap a beaver, it was cut up immediately 
and distributed, that each man might carry his share. 

After two days of toilsome travel, during which they made 
but eighteen miles, they stopped on the 21st, to build two rafts 
on which to cross to the north side of the river. On these they 
embarked, on the following morning, four on one raft, and three 
on the other, and pushed boldly from shore. Finding the rafts 
sufficiently firm and steady to withstand the rough and rapid 
water, they changed their minds, and instead of crossing, ven 
tured to float down with the current. The river was, in general, 
very rapid, and from one to two hundred yards in width, winding 
in every direction through mountains of hard black rock, covered 
with pines and cedars. The mountains to the east of the river 
were spurs of the Rocky range, and of great magnitude ; those 
on the west were little better than hills, bleak and barren, or 
scantily clothed with stunted grass. 

Mad River, though deserving its name from the impetuosity 
of its current, was free from rapids and cascades, and flowed on 
in a single channel between gravel banks, often fringed with cot- 
ton-wood and dwarf willows in abundance. These gave suste- 
nance to immense quantities of beaver, so that the voyageurs 
found no difficulty in procuring food. Ben Jones, also, killed a 
fallow deer, and a wolverine, and as they were enabled to carry 



RAFTING A RIVER, 391 



the carcasses on their rafts, their larder was well supplied. In- 
deed, they might have occasionally shot beavers that were swim- 
ming in the river as they floated by, but they humanely spared 
their lives, being in no want of meat at the time. In this way, 
they kept down the river for three days, drifting with the current 
and encamping on land at night, when they drew up their rafts on 
shore. Towards the evening of the third day, they came to a 
little island on which they descried a gang of elk. Ben Jones 
landed, and was fortunate enough to wound one, which imme 
diately took to the water, but, being unable to stem the current, 
drifted above a mile, when it was overtaken and drawn to shore. 
As a storm was gathering, they now encamped on the margin of 
the river, where they remained all the next day, sheltering them- 
selves as well as they could from the rain, and hail, and snow, a 
sharp foretaste of the impending winter. During their encamp- 
ment, they employed themselves in jerking a part of the elk for 
future supply. In cutting up the carcass, they found that the 
animal had been wounded by hunters, about a week previously, 
an arrow head and a musket ball remaining in the wounds. In 
the wilderness, every trivial circumstance is a matter of anxious 
speculation. The Snake Indians have no guns ; the elk, there- 
fore, cou.ld not have been wounded by one of them. They w^re 
on the borders of the country infested by the Blackfeet, wno 
carry firearms. It was concluded, therefore, that the elk had 
been hunted by some of that wandering and hostile tribe, who, of 
course, must be in the neighborhood. The idea put an end to 
the transient solace they had enjoyed in the comparative repose 
and abundance of the river. 

For three days longer they continued to navigate with their 
rafts. The recent storm had rendered the weather extremely 
cold. They had now floated down the river about ninety-one 
miles, when, finding the mountains on the right, diminished to 



392 ASTORIA. 

moderate sized hills, they landed, and prepared to resume their 
journey on foot. Accordingly, having spent a day in prepara- 
tions, making moccasons, and parcelling out their jerked meat in 
packs of twenty pounds to each man, they turned their backs 
upon the river on the 29th of September and struck off to the 
northeast ; keeping along the southern skirt of the mountain on 
which Henry's Fort was situated. 

Their march was slow and toilsome ; part of the time through 
an alluvial bottom, thickly grown with cotton-wood, hawthorn and 
willows, and part of the time over rough hills. Three antelopes 
came within shot, but they dared not fire at them, lest the report 
of their rifles should betray them to the Blackfeet. In the course 
of the day, they came upon a large horse-track apparently about 
three weeks old, and in the evening encamped on the banks of a 
small stream, on a spot which had been the camping place of this 
same band. 

On the following morning they still observed the Indian 
track, but after a time they came to where it separated in every 
direction, and was lost. This s'howed that the band had dispersed 
in various hunting parties, and was, in all probability, still in the 
neighborhood ; it was necessary, therefore, to proceed with the 
utmost caution. They kept a vigilant eye as they marched, upon 
every height where a scout might be posted, and scanned the 
solitary landscape and the distant ravines, to observe any column 
of smoke ; but nothing of the kind was to be seen ; all was inde- 
scribably stern and lifeless. 

Towards evening they came to where there were several hot 
springs, strongly impregnated with iron and sulphur, and sending 
up a volume of vapor that tainted the surrounding atmosphere, 
and might be seen at the distance of a couple of miles. 

Near to these they encamped, in a deep gully, which afforded 
some concealment. To their great concern, Mr. Crooks, who had 



WILFUL CONDUCT OF M'LELLAN. 393 



been indisposed for the two preceding days, liad a violent fever in 
the night. 

Shortly after daybreak they resumed their march. On 
emerging from the glen, a consultation was held as to their 
course. Should they continue round the skirt of the mountain, 
they would be in danger of falling in with the scattertrl parties 
of Blackfeet, who were probably hunting in the plain. It was 
thought most advisable, therefore, to strike directly across the 
mountain, since the route, though rugged and difficult, would be 
most secure. This counsel was indignantly derided by M'Lellan 
as pusillanimous. Hot-headed and impatient at all times, he had 
been rendered irascible by the fatigues of the journey, and the 
condition of his feet, which were chafed and sore. He could not 
endure the idea of encountering the difficulties of the mountain, 
and swore he would rather face all the Blackfeet in the country. 
He was overruled, however, and the party began to ascend the 
mountain, striving, with the ardor and emulation of young men, 
who should be first up. M'Lellan, who was double the age of 
some of his companions, soon began to lose breath, and fall in 
the rear. In the distribution of burdens, it was his turn to carry 
the old beaver trap. Piqued and irritated, he suddenly came to 
a halt, swore he would carry it no further, and jerked it half-way 
down the hill. He was offered in place of it a package of dried 
meat, but this he scornfully threw upon the ground. They might 
carry it, he said, who needed it, for his part, he could provide his 
daily food with his rifle. He concluded by flinging off from the 
party, and keeping along the skirts of the mountain, leaving 
those, he said, to climb rocks, who were afraid to face Indians. 
It was in vain that Mr. Stuart represented to him the rashness 
of his conduct, and the dangers to which he exposed himself : he 
rejected such counsel as craven. It was equally useless to repre- 
sent the dangers to which he subjected his companions ; as he 



394 ASTORIA. 



could be discovered at a great distance on those naked plains, and 
the Indians, seeing him, would know that there must be other 
white men within reach. M'Lellan turned a deaf ear to every 
remonstrance, and kept on his wilful way. 

It seems a strange instance of perverseness in this man thus 
to fling himself off alone, in a savage region, where solitude itself 
was dismal, but every encounter with his fellow-man full of peril. 
Such, however, is the hardness of spirit, and the insensibility to 
danger, that grow upon men in the wilderness. M'Lellan, more- 
over, was a uan of peculiar temperament, ungovernable in his 
will, of a courage that absolutely knew no fear, and somewhat of 
a braggart spirit, that took a pride in doing desperate and hair- 
brained things. 

Mr. Stuart and his party found the passages of the mountain 
somewhat difficult, on account of the snow, which in many places 
was of considerable depth, though it was now but the 1st of Octo- 
ber. They crossed the summit early in the afternoon, and beheld 
below them a plain about twent}' miles wide, bounded on the oppo- 
site side by their old acc|uaintances, the Pilot Knobs, those towering 
mountains which had served Mr. Hunt as landmarks in part of 
his route of the preceding year. Through the intermodiate plain 
wandered a river about fifty yards wide, sometimes gleaming in 
open day, but oftener running through willowed banks, which 
marked its serpentine course. 

Those of the party who had been across these mountains, 
pointed out much of the bearings of the country to Mr. Stuart. 
They showed him in what direction must lie the deserted post 
called Heni'y's Fort, where they had abandoned their horses and 
embarked in canoes, and they informed him that the stream which 
wandered through the plain below them, fell into Henry Kivcr, 
half way between the fort and the mouth of Mad or Snake River. 
The character of all this mountain region was decidedly volcanic; 



HUMANE RESOLUTION. 395 



and to the uorLliwest, between Henry's Fort and the source of 
the Missouri. Mr. Stuart observed several very high peaks covered 
with snow, from two of which smoke ascended in considerable 
volumes, apparently from craters, in a state of eruption. 

On their way down the mountain, when they had reached the 
skirts, they descried M'Lellan at a distance, in the advance, trav- 
ersing the plain. Whether he saw them or not, he showed no dis- 
position to rejoin them, but pursued his sullen and solitary way. 

After descending into the plain, they kept on about six miles, 
until they reached the little river, which was here about knee 
deep, and richly fringed Avith willow. Here they encamped for 
the night. At this encampment the fever of Mr. Crooks increased 
to such a degree that it was impossible for him to travel. Some 
of the men were strenuous for Mr. Stuart to proceed without him, 
urging the imminent danger they were exposed to by delay in 
that unknown and barren region, infested by the most treache- 
rous and inveterate of foes. They represented that the season 
was rapidly advancing ; the weather for some days had been 
extremely cold ; the mountains were already almost impassable 
from snow, and would soon present effectual barriers. Their 
provisions were exhausted ; there was no game to be seen, and 
they did not dare to use their rifles, through fear of drawing 
upon them the Blackfeet. 

The picture thus presented, was too true to be contradicted, 
and made a deep impression on the mind of Mr. Stuart ; but the 
idea of abandoning a fellow being, and a comrade, in such a 
forlorn situation, was too repugnant to his feelings to be admitted 
for an instant. He represented to the men that the malady of 
Mr. Crooks could not be of long duration, and that in all proba- 
bility, he would be able to travel in the course of a few days. It 
was with great difficulty, however, that he prevailed upon them 
to abide the event. 



jr%.*j X v-'xvjij 



CHAPTER XLVII. 

As the travellers were now in a dangerous neighborhood, where 
the report of a rifle might bring the savages upon them, they 
had to depend upon their old beaver-trap for subsistence. The 
little river on which they were encamped gave many " beaver 
signs," and Ben Jones set off at daybreak, along the willowed 
banks, to find a proper trapping-place. As he was making his 
way among the thickets, with his trap on his shoulder and his 
rifle in his hand, he heard a crashing sound, and turning, beheld 
a huge grizzly bear advancing uj)on him, with terrific growl. The 
sturdy Kentuckian was not to be intimidated by man or monster. 
Levelling his rifle, he pulled trigger. The bear was wounded, 
but not mortally : instead, however, of rushing upon his assailant, 
as is generally the case with this kind of bear, he retreated into 
the bushes. Jones followed him for some distance, but with suit- 
able caution, and Bruin effected his escape. 

As there was every prospect of a detention of some days in 
this place, and as the supplies of the beaver-trap were too preca- 
rious to be depended upon, it became absolutely necessary to run 
some risk of discovery by hunting in the neighborhood. Ben 
Jones, therefore, obtained permission to range with his rifle some 
distance from the camp, and set off to beat up the river banks 
in defiance of bear or Blackfeet. 

He returned in great spirits in the course of a few hours^ 
having come upon a gang of elk about six miles off, and killed 



ROCKY HEIGHTS. 397 



five. This was joyful news, and the party immediately moved 
forward to the place where he had left the carcasses. They were 
obliged to support Mr. Crooks the whole distance, for he was un 
able to walk. Here they remained for two or three days, feasting 
heartily on elk meat, and drying as much as they would be able 
to carry away with them. 

By the 5th of October, some simple prescriptions, together 
with an " Indian sweat," had so far benefited Mr. Crooks, that 
he was enabled to move about ; they, therefore, set forward 
slowly, dividing his pack and accoutrements among them, and 
made a creeping day's progress of eight miles south. Their 
route for the most part lay through swamps, caused by the indus- 
trious labors of the beaver ; for this little animal had dammed 
up numerous small streams, issuing fram the Pilot Knob Moun- 
tains, so that the low grounds on their borders were completely 
inundated. In the course of their march they killed a grizzly 
bear, with fat on its flanks upwards of three inches in thickness. 
This was an acceptable addition to their stock of elk meat. The 
next day Mr. Crooks was sufl&ciently recruited in strength to be 
able to carry his rifle and pistols, and they made a march of sev- 
tceu miles along the borders of the plain. 

Their journey daily became more toilsome, and their suffer- 
ings more severe, as shey advanced. Keeping up the channel 
of a river, they traversed the rugged summit of the Pilot Knob 
Mountain, covered with snow nine inches deep. For several days 
they continued, bending their course as much as possible to the 
east, over a succession ot rocky heights, deep valleys, and rapid 
streams. Sometimes their dizzy path lay along the margin of 
perpendicular precipices, several hundred feet in height, where a 
single false step might precipitate them into the rocky bed of a 
torrent which roared below. Not the least part of their weary 
task was the fording of the numerous windings and branchings 



ASlUitlA. 



of the mountaiu rivers, all boisterous in their currents, and 
icj cold. 

Hunger was added to their other sufferings, and soon became 
the keenest. The small supply of bear and elk meat which they 
had been able to carry, in addition to their previous burdens, 
served but for a very short time. In their anxiety to struggle 
forward, they had but little time to hunt, and scarce any game in 
their path. For three days they had nothing to eat but a small 
duck, and a few poor trout. They occasionally saw numbers of 
antelopes, and tried every art to get within shot ; but the timid 
animals were more than commonly wild, and after tantalizing the 
hungry hunters for a time, bounded away beyond all chance of 
pursuit. At length they were fortunate enough to kill one : it 
was extremely meagre, and yielded but a scanty supply ; but on 
this they subsisted for several days. 

On the 11th, they encamped on a small stream, near the foot 
of the Spanish River Mountain. Here they met with traces of 
that wayward and solitary being, M'Lellan, who was still keeping 
on ahead of them through these lonely mountains. He had en- 
camped the night before on this stream ; they found the embers 
of the fire by which he had slept, and the remains of a miserable 
wolf on which he had supped. It was evident he had suffered, 
like themselves, the pangs of hungei', though he had fared better 
at this encampment ; for they had not a mouthful to eat. 

The next day, the}' rose hungry and alert, and set out with 
the dawn to climb the mountain, which was steep and difficult. 
Traces of volcanic eruptions were to be seen in various direc- 
tions. There was a species of clay also to be met with, out of 
which the Indians manufacture pots and jars, and dishes. It is 
very fine and light, of an agreeable smell, and of a brown color 
spotted with yellow, and dissolves readily in the mouth. Vessels 
manufactured of it, are said to impart a pleasant smell and flavor 



STARVATION. 399 



to any liquids. These mountains abound also with mineral 
earths, or chalks of various colors ; especially two kinds of ochre, 
one a pale, the other a bright red, like vermilion ; much used by 
the Indians, in painting their bodies. 

About noon, the travellers reached the " drains " and brooks 
that formed the head waters of the river, and later in the day 
descended to where the main body, a shallow stream, about a 
hundred and sixty yards wide, poured through its mountain 
valley. 

Here the poor famishing wanderers had expected to find buf- 
falo in abundance, and had fed their hungry hopes during their 
scrambling toil, with the thoughts of roasted ribs, juicy humps, 
and broiled marrow bones. To their great disappointment, the 
river banks were deserted ; a few old tracks, showed where a herd 
of bulls had some time before passed along, but not a horn nor 
htimp was to be seen in the sterile landscape. A few antelopes 
looked down upon them from the brow of a crag, but flitted away 
out of sight at the least approach of the hunter. 

In the most starving mood they kept for several miles further, 
along the bank of the river, seeking for " beaver signs." Find- 
ing some, they encamped in the vicinity, and Ben Jones imme- 
diately proceeded to set the trap. They had scarce come to a 
halt, when they perceived a large smoke at some distance to the 
southwest. The sight was hailed with joy, for they trusted it 
might rise from some Indian camp, where they could procure 
something to eat, and the dread of starvation had now overcome 
even the terror of the Blackfeet. Lv: Clerc, one of the Canadians, 
was instantly dispatched by Mr. Stuart, to reconnoitre ; and the 
travellers sat up till a late hour, watching and listening for his 
return, hoping he might bring them food. Midnight arrived, 
but Le Clerc did not make his appearance, and they laid down 
once more supperless to sleep, comforting themselves with the 



400 ASTORIA. 

hopes that their old beaver trap might furnisn them with a 
breakfast. 

At daybreak they hastened with famished eagerness to the 
trap — they found in it the fore paw of a beaver ; the sight of 
which tantalized their hunger, and added to their dejection. 
They resumed their journey with flagging spirits, but had not 
gone far when they perceived Le Clerc approaching at a distance. 
They hastened to meet him, in hopes of tidings of good cheer. 
He had none to give them ; but news of that strange wanderer, 
M'Lellan. The smoke had risen from his encampment, which 
took fire while he was at a little distance from it fishing. Le 
Clerc found him in forlorn condition. His fishing had been 
unsuccessful. During twelve days that he had been wandering 
alone through these savage mountains, he had found scarce any 
thing to eat. He had been ill, wayworn, sick at heart, still he 
had kept forward ; but now his strength and his stubbornness 
were exhausted. He expressed his satisfaction at hearing that 
Mr. Stuart and his party were near, and said he would wait at 
his camp for their arrival, in hopes they would give him some- 
thing to eat, for without food he declared he should not be able 
to proceed much further. 

When the party reached the place, they found the poor fellow 
lying on a parcel of withered grass, wasted to a perfect skeleton, 
and so feeble that he could scarce raise his head or speak. The 
presence ot his old comrades seemed to revive him ; but they 
had no food to give him, for they themselves were almost starving. 
They urged him to rise and accompany them, but he shook his 
head. It was all in vain, he said ; there was no prospect of their 
getting speedy relief, and without it he should perish by the 
way ; he might as well, therefore, stay and die where was. At 
length, after much persuasion, they got him upon his legs ; his 
rifle and other effects were shared among them, and he was 



STARVATION. 401 



cheered and aided forward. In this way they proceeded for 
seventeen miles, over a level plain of sand, until, seeing a few 
antelopes in the distance, they encamped on the margin of a 
small stream. All now that were capable of the exertion, turned 
out to hunt for a meal. Their efforts were fruitless, and after 
dark they returned to their camp, famished almost to despera- 
tion. 

As they were preparing for the third time to lay down to 
sleep without a mouthful to eat, Le Clerc, one of the Canadians, 
gaunt and wild with hunger, approached Mr. Stuart with his 
gun in his hand. " It was all in vain," he said, " to attempt to 
proceed any further without food. They had a barren plain 
before them, three or four days' journey in extent, on which 
nothing was to be procured. They must all perish before they 
could get to the end of it. It was better, therefore, that one 
should die to save the rest." He jH'oposed, therefore, that they 
should cast lots ; adding, as an inducement for Mr. Stuart to 
assent to the proposition, that he, as leader of the party, should 
be exempted. 

Mr. Stuart shuddered at the horrible proposition, and endea- 
vored to reason with the man, but his words were unavailing. 
At length, snatching up his rifle, he threatened to shoot him on 
the spot if he persisted. The famished wretch dropped on his 
knees, begged pardon in the most abject terms, and promised never 
again to offend him with such a suggestion. 

Quiet being restored to the forlorn encampment, each one 
sought repose. Mr. Stuart, however, was so exhausted by the 
agitation of the past scene, acting upon his emaciated frame, 
that he could scarce crawl to his miserable couch ; where, not- 
withstanding his fatigues, he passed a sleepless night, revolving 
upon their dreary situation, and the desperate prospect before 
them. 



402 ASTORIA. 

Before daylight the next morning, they were up and on their 
way ; they had nothing to detain them ; no breakfast to prepare, 
and to linger was to perish. They proceeded, however, but 
slowly, for all were faint and weak. Here and there they passed 
the skulls and bones of buffaloes, which showed that these ani- 
mals must have been hunted here during the past season ; tho 
sight of these bones served only to mock their misery. After 
travelling about nine miles along the plain, they ascended a range 
of hills, and had scarcely gone two miles further, when, to their 
great joy, they discovered " an old run-down buffalo bull ;" the 
laggard probably of some herd that had been hunted and harass- 
ed through the mountains. They now all stretched themselves 
out to encompass and make sure of this solitary animal, for their 
lives depended upon their success. After considerable trouble 
and infinite anxiety, they at length succeeded in killing him. 
He was instantly flayed and cut up, and so ravenous was their 
hunger, that they devoured some of the flesh raw. The residue 
they carried to a brook near by, where they encamped, lit a fire, 
and began to cook. 

Mr. Stuart was fearful that in their famished state they would 
eat to excess and injure themselves. He caused a soup to be 
made of some of the meat, and that each should take a quantity 
of it as a prelude to his supper. This may have had a beneficial 
effect, for though they sat up the greater part of the night, cook- 
ing and cramming, no one suffered any inconvenience. 

The next morning the feasting was resumed, and about mid- 
day, feeling somewhat recruited and refreshed, they set out 
on their journey with renovated spirits, shaping their course 
towards a mountain, the summit of which they saw towering in 
the east, and near to which they expected to find the head waters 
of the Missouri. 

As they proceeded, they continued to see the skeletons of 



GIGANTIC LODGE. 403 



buffaloes scattered about the plain in every direction, which 
showed that there had been much hunting here by the Indians 
in the recent season. Further on they crossed a large Indian 
trail, forming a deep path, about fifteen days old, which went in 
a north direction. They concluded it to have been made by some 
numerous band of Crows, who had hunted in this country for the 
greater part of the summer. 

On the following day they forded a stream of considerable 
magnitude, with banks clothed with pine trees. Among these 
they found the traces of a large Indian camp, which had evidently 
been the head-quarters of a hunting expedition, from the great 
quantities of buffalo bones strewed about the neighborhood. The 
camp had apparently been abandoned about a month. 

In the centre was a singular lodge one hundred and fifty feet 
in circumference, supported by the trunks of twenty trees, about 
twelve inches in diameter and forty-four feet long. Across these 
were laid branches of pine and willow trees, so as to yield a tol- 
erable shade. At the west end, immediately opposite to the door, 
three bodies lay interred with their feet towards the east. At 
the head of each grave was a branch of red cedar firmly planted 
in the ground. At the foot was a large buffalo's skull, painted 
black. Savage ornaments were suspended in various parts of the 
edifice, and a. great number of children's moccasons. From the 
magnitude of this building, and the time and labor that must 
have been expended in erecting it, the bodies wLich it contained 
were probably those of noted warriors and hunters. 

The next day, October 17th, they passed two large tributary 
streams of the Spanish River. They took their rise in the Wind 
River Mountains, which ranged along to the east, stupendously 
high and rugged, composed of vast masses of black rock, almost 
destitute of wood, and covered in many places with snow. This 
day they saw a few bufialo bulls, and some antelopes, but could 



404 ASTORIA. 

not kill any ; and their stock of provisions began to grow scanty 
as well as poor. 

Oa the 18th, after crossing a mountain ridge, and traversing 
a plain, they waded one of the branches of Spanish River, and 
on ascending its bank, met with about a hundred and thirty 
Snake Indians. They were friendly in their demeanor, and con- 
ducted them to their encampment, which was about three miles 
distant. It consisted of about forty wigwams, constructed prin- 
cipally of pine branches. The Snakes, like most of their nation, 
were very poor ; the marauding Crows, in their late excursion 
through the country, had picked this unlucky band to the very 
bone, carrying off their horses, several of their squaws, and most 
of their effects. In spite of their poverty, they were hospitable 
in the extreme, and made the hungry strangers welcome to their 
cabins. A few trinkets procured from them a supply of buffalo 
meat, and of leather for moccasons, of which the party were 
greatly in need. The most valuable prize obtained from them, 
however, was a horse : it was a sorry old animal in truth, but it 
was the only one that remained to the poor fellows, after the fell 
swoop of the Crows ; yet this they were prevailed upon to part 
with to their guests for a pistol, an axe, a knife, and a few other 
trifling articles. 

They had doleful stories to tell of the Crows, who were en- 
camped on a river at no great distance to the east, and were in 
such force that they dared not venture to seek any satisfaction 
for their outrages, or to get back a horse or squaw. They en- 
deavored to excite the indignation of their visitors by accounts 
of robberies and murders committed on lonely white hunters and 
trappers by Crows and Blackfeet. Some of these were exagger- 
ations of the outrages already mentioned, sustained by some of 
the scattered members of Mr. Hunt's expedition ; others were in 
all probability sheer fabrications, to which the Snakes seem to 



THE FORLORN ALLIANCE. 405 



have been a little prone. Mr. Stuart assured them that the day 
was not far distant when the whites would make their power to 
be felt throughout that country, and take signal vengeance on the 
perpetrators of these misdeeds. The Snakes expressed great joy 
at the intelligence, and offered their services to aid the righteous 
cause, brightening at the thoughts of taking the field with such 
potent allies, and doubtless anticipating their turn at stealing 
horses and abducting squaws. Their offers of course were ac- 
cepted ; the calumet of peace was produced, and the two forlorn 
powers smoked eternal friendship between themselves, and ven 
gcance upon their common spoilers, the Crows. 



406 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XLYIII. 

By sunrise on the following morning, (October 19tL.) the travel- 
lers had loaded their old horse with buffalo meat, sufficient for 
five days' provisions, and, taking leave of their new allies, the 
poor, but hospitable Snakes, set forth in somewhat better spirits, 
though the increasing cold of the weather, and the sight of the 
snowy mountains which they had yet to traverse, were enough to 
chill their very hearts. The country along this branch of the 
Spanish River, as far as they could see, was perfectly level, 
bounded by ranges of lofty mountains, both to the east and west. 
They proceeded about three miles to the south, where they came 
again upon the large trail of Crow Indians, which they had 
crossed four days previously, made, no doubt, by the same 
marauding band that had plundered the Snakes ; and which, 
according to the account of the latter, was now encamped on a 
stream to the eastward. The trail kept on to the southeast, and 
was so well beaten by horse and foot, that they supposed at least 
a hundred lodges had passed along it. As it formed, therefore, 
a convenient highway, and ran in a proper direction, they turned 
into it, and determined to keep along it as far as safety would 
permit ; as the Crow encampment must be some distance off, and 
it was not likely those savages would return upon their steps. 
They travelled forward, therefore, all that day, in the track of 
their dangerous predecessors, which led them across mountain 
streams, and along ridges, and through narrow valleys, all tend- 
ing generally towards the southeast. The wind blew coldly from 
the northeast, with occasional flurries of snow, which made them 



-D WEATHER AND GOOD CHEER. 407 



encamp early, on the sheltered banks of a brook. The two Cana- 
dians. Vallee and Le Clerc, killed a young buffalo bull in the 
evening, which was in good condition, and afforded them a plen- 
tiful supply of fresh beef. They loaded their spits, therefore, 
and crammed their camp kettle with meat, and while the wind 
whistled, and the snow whirled around them, huddled round a 
rousing fire, basked in its warmth, and comforted both soul and 
body with a hearty and invigorating meal. No enjoyments have 
greater zest than these, snatched in the very midst of difficulty 
and danger ; and it is probable the poor wayworn and weather- 
beaten travellers relished these creature comforts the more highly 
from the surrounding desolation, and the dangerous proximity of 
the Crows. 

The snow which had fallen in the night made it late in the 
morning before the party loaded their solitary pack-horse, and 
resumed their march. They had not gone far before the Crow 
trace which they were following changed its direction, and bore 
to the north of east. They had already begun to feel themselves 
on dangerous ground in keeping along it, as they might be 
descried by some scouts and spies of that race of Ishmaelites, 
whose predatory life required them to be constantly on the alert. 
On seeing the trace turn so much to the north, therefore, they 
abandoned it, and kept on their course to the southeast for eigh- 
teen miles, through a beautifully undulating country, having the 
main chain of mountains on the left, and a considerably elevated 
ridge on the right. Here the mountain ridge which divides 
Wind River from the head waters of the Columbia and Spanish 
Bivers ends abruptly, and winding to the north of east, becomes 
the dividing barrier between a branch of the Big Horn and Chey- 
enne Rivers, and those head waters which flow into the Missouri 
below the Sioux country. 

The ridge which lay on the right of the travellers having now 



408 ASTORIA. 

become very low, they passed over it, and came into a level plain, 
about ten miles in circumference, and incrusted to the depth of 
a foot or eighteen inches with salt as white as snow. This is 
furnished by numerous salt springs of limpid water, which are 
continually welling up, overflowing their borders, and forming 
beautiful crystallizations. The Indian tribes of the interior are 
excessively fond of this salt, and repair to the valley to collect it, 
but it is held in distaste by the tribes of the sea-coast, who will 
eat nothing that has been cured or seasoned by it. 

This evening they encamped on the banks of a small stream, 
m the open prairie. The northeast wind was keen and cutting ; 
they had nothing wherewith to make a fire, but a scanty growth 
of sage, or wormwood, and were fain to wrap themselves up in 
their blankets, and huddle themselves in thir " nests," at an early 
hour. In the course ot the evening, Mr. M'Lellan, who had now 
regained his strength, killed a buffalo, but it was some distance 
from the camp, and they postponed supplying themselves from 
the carcass until the following morning. 

The next day, (October 21st,) the cold continued, accompa- 
nied by snow. They set forward on their bleak and toilsome 
way, keeping to the east-northeast, towards the lofty summit of 
a mountain, which it was necessary for them to cross. Before 
they reached its base they passed another large trail, steering a 
little to the right of the point of the mountain. This they pre- 
sumed to have been made by another band of Crows, who had 
probably been hunting lower down on the Spanish River. 

The severity of the weather compelled them to encamp at the 
end of fifteen miles, on the skirts of the mountain, where they 
found sufficient dry aspen trees to supply them with fire, but they 
sought in vain about the neighborhood for a spring or rill of water. 

At daybreak they were up and on the march, scrambling up 
the mountain side for the distance of eight painful miles. From 



WINTRY PLAINS. 409 



the casual hints given in the travelling memoranda of Mr. Stuartj 
this mountain would seem to offer a rich field of speculation for 
the geologist. Here was a plain three miles in diameter, strewed 
with pumice stones and other volcanic reliques, with a lake in the 
centre, occupying what had probably been the crater. Here were 
also, in some places, deposits of marine shells, indicating that this 
mountain crest had at some remote period been below the waves. 

After pausing to repose, and to enjoy these grand but savage 
and awful scenes, they began to descend the eastern side of the 
mountain. The descent was rugged and romantic, along deep 
ravines and defiles, overhung with crags and cliffs, among which 
they beheld numbers of the ahsahta or bighorn, skipping fear- 
lessly from rock to rock. Two of them they succeeded in bring- 
ing down with their rifles, as they peered fearlessly from the 
brow of their airy precipices. 

Arrived at the foot of the mountain, the travellers found a 
rill of water oozing out of the earth, and resembling in look and 
taste, the water of the Missouri. Here they encamped for the 
night, and supped sumptuously upon their mountain mutton, 
which they found in good condition, and extremely Avell tasted. 

The morning was bright, and intensely cold. Early in the 
day they came upon a stream running to the east, between low 
hills of bluish earth, strongly impregnated with copperas. Mr. 
Stuart supposed this to be one of the head waters of the Mis- 
souri, and determined to follow its banks. After a march of 
twenty-six miles, however he arrived at the summit of a hill, the 
prospect of which induced him to alter his intention. He beheld, 
in every direction south of east, a vast plain, bounded only by the 
horizon, through which wandered the stream in question, in a 
south-southeast direction. It could not, therefore, be a branch 
of the Missouri. He now gave up all idea of taking the stream 
for his guide, and shaped his course towards a range of moun- 

18 



410 ASTORIA. 

tains in the east, about sixty miles distant, near whicli he hoped 
to find another stream. 

The weather was now so severe, and the hardships of travel- 
ling so great, that he resolved to halt for the winter, at the first 
eligible place. That night they had to encamp on the open 
prairie, near a scanty pool of water, and without any wood to 
make a fire. The northeast wind blew keenly across the naked 
waste, and they were fain to decamp from their inhospitable 
bivouac before the dawn. 

For two days they kept on in an eastward direction, against 
wintry blasts and occasional snow storms. They suffered, also, 
from scarcity of water, having occasionally to use melted snow ; 
this, with the want of pasturage, reduced their old pack-horse 
sadly. They saw many tracks of bulFalo, and some few bulls, 
which, however, got the wind of them, and scampered off. 

On the 26th of October, they steered east-northeast, for a 
wooded ravine, in a mountain at a small distance from the base 
of which, to their great joy, they discovered an abundant stream, 
running between willowed banks. Here they halted for the 
night, and Ben Jones having kickily trapped a beaver, and killed 
two buffalo bulls, they remained all the next day encamped, feast- 
ing and reposing, and allowing their jaded horse to rest from 
his labors. 

The little stream on which they were encamped, was one of 
the head waters of the Platte River, which flows into the Mis- 
souri ; it was, in fact, the northern fork, or branch of that river, 
though this the travellers did not discover until long afterwards. 
Pursuing the course of this stream for about twenty miles, they 
came to where it forced a passage through a range of high hills, 
covered with cedars, into an extensive low country, affording ex- 
cellent pasture to numerous herds of buffalo. Here they killed 
three cows, which were the first they had been able to get, having 



THE FIERY NARROWS. 411 



hitherto had to content themselves with bull beef, which at thia 
season of the year is very poor. The hump meat afforded them 
a repast fit for an epicure. 

Late on the afternoon of the 30th, they came to where the 
stream, now increased to a considerable size, poured along in 
a ravine between precipices of red stone, two hundred feet in 
height. For some distance it dashed along, over huge masses of 
rock, with foaming violence, as if exasperated by being compressed 
into so narrow a channel, and at length leaped down a chasm that 
looked dark and frightful in the gathering twilight. 

For a part of the next day, the wild river, in its capricious 
wanderings, led them through a variety of striking scenes. At 
one time they were upon high plains, like platforms among the 
mountains, with herds of buffaloes roaming about them ; at an- 
other, among rude rocky defiles, broken into cliffs and precipices, 
where the black-tailed deer bounded off among the crags, and the 
bighorn basked in the sunny brow of the precipice. 

In the after part of the day, they came to another scene, sur- 
passing in savage grandeur those already described. They had 
been travelling for some distance through a pass of the moun- 
tains, keeping parallel with the river, as it roared along, out of 
sight, through a deep ravine. Sometimes their devious path 
approached the margin of cliffs below which the river foamed, and 
boiled and whirled among the masses of rock that had fallen into 
its channel. As they crept cautiously on, leading their solitary 
pack-horse along these giddy heights, they all at once came to 
where the river thundered down a succession of precipices, 
throwing up clouds of spray, and making a prodigious din and 
uproar. The travellers remained, for a time, gazing witb mingled 
awe and delight, at this furious cataract, to which Mr. Stuart 
gave, from the color of the impending rocks, the name of " The 
Fiery Narrows." 



413 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

The travellers encamped for the niglit on the banks of the river, 
below the cataract. The night was cold with partial shcwers of 
rain and sleet. The morning dawned gloomily, the skies were 
sullen, and overcast, and threatened further storms ; but the little 
sand resumed their journey, in defiance of the weather. The 
increasing rigor of the season, however, which makes itself felt 
early in these mountainous regions, and on these naked and ele- 
vated plains, brought them to a pause, and a serious deliberation, 
after they had descended about thirty miles further along the 
course of the river. 

All were convinced that it was in vain to attempt to accom- 
plish their journey on foot at this inclement season. They had 
still many hundred miles to traverse before they should reach the 
main course of the Missouri, and their route would lay over 
immense prairies, naked aiid bleak, and destitute of fuel. The 
question then was, where to choose their wintering place, and 
whether or not to proceed further down the river. They had at 
first imagined it to be one of the head waters, or tributary streams, 
of the Missouri. Afterwards they had believed it to be the Rapid, 
or Quicourt River, in which opinion they had not come nearer to 
the truth ; they now, however, were persuaded, with equal fallacy, 
by its inclining somewhat to the north of east, that it was the 
Cheyenne. If so, by continuing down it much further they must 
arrive among the Indians, from whom the river takes its name. 
Among these they would be sm-e to meet some of the Sioux tribe- 



A WINTERING PLACE. 413 



These would apprise their relatives, the piratical Sioux of the 
Missouri, of the approach of a band of white traders ; so that, in 
the spring time, they would be likely to be waylaid and robbed on 
their way down the river, by some party in ambush upon its banks. 

Even should this prove to be the Quicourt or Rapid River, it 
would not be prudent to winter much further down upon its 
banks, as, though they might be out of the range of the Sioux, 
they would be in the neighborhood of the Poncas, a tribe nearly 
as dangerous. It was resolved, therefore, since chey must winter 
somewhere on this side of the Missouri, to descend no lower, but 
to keep up in these solitary regions, where they would be in no 
danger of molestation. 

They were brought the more promptly and unanimously to 
this decision, by coming upon au excellent wintering place, that 
promised every thing requisite for their comfort. It was on a 
fine bend of the river, just below where it issued out from among 
a ridge of mountains, and bent towards the northeast. Here 
was a beautiful low point of land, covered by cotton-wood, and 
surrounded by a thick growth of willow, so as to yield both shel- 
ter and fuel, as well as materials for building. The river swept 
by in a strong current, about a hundred and fifty yards wide. 
To the southeast were mountains of -moderate height, the nearest 
about two miles ofi", but the whole chain ranging to the east, south, 
and southwest, as far as the eye could reach. Their summits 
were crowned with extensive tracts of pitch pine, checkered with 
small patches of the quivering aspen. Lower down were thick 
forests of firs and red cedars, growing out in many places from 
the very fissures of the rocks. The mountains were broken and 
precipitous, with huge bluffs protruding from among the forests. 
Their rocky recesses, and beetling clilFs, aiTorded retreats to in- 
numerable flocks of the bighorn, while their woody summits and 
ravines abounded with bears and black-tailed deer. These, with 



414 ASTORIA. 

the numerous herds of buffalo that ranged the lower grounds 
along the river, promised the travellers abundant cheer in their 
winter quarters. 

On the 2d of November, therefore, they pitched their camp 
for the winter, on the woody point, and their first thought was, to 
obtain a supply of provisions. Ben Jones and the two Cana- 
dians accordingly sallied forth, accompanied by two others of the 
party, leaving but one to watch the camp. Their hunting was un- 
commonly successful. In the course of two days, they killed 
thirty-two buffaloes, and collected thoir meat on the margin of a 
small brook, about a mile distant. Fortunately, a severe frost 
froze the river, so that the meat was easily transported to the en- 
campment. On a succeeding day, a herd of buffalo came tramp- 
ling through the woody bottom on the river banks, and fifteen 
more were killed. 

It was soon discovered, however, that there was game of a 
more dangerous nature in the neighborhood. On one occasion, 
Mr. Crooks had wandered about a mile from the camp, and had 
ascended a small hill commanding a view of the river. He was 
without his rifle, a rare circumstance, for in these wild regions, 
where one may put up a wild animal, or a wild Indian, at every 
turn, it is customary never to stir from the camp-fire unarmed. 
The hill where he stood overlooked the place where the massacre 
of the buffalo had taken place. As he was looking around on 
the prospect, his eye was caught by an object below, moving 
directly towards him. To his dismay, he discovered it to be a 
grizzly bear, with two cubs. There was no tree at hand into 
which he could climb ; to run, would only be to provoke pursuit, 
and he should soon be overtaken. He threw himself on the 
ground, therefore, and lay motionless, watching the movements 
of the animal with intense anxiety. It continued to advance un 
til at the foot of the hill, when it turned, and made into the 



COMFORTABLE QUARTERS. 415 



woods, having probably gorged itself with buffalo flesh. Mr. 
Crooks made all haste back to the camp, rejoicing at his escape, 
and determining never to stir out again without his rifle. A few 
days after this circumstance, a grizzly bear was shot in the neigh 
borhood, by Mr. Miller. 

As the slaughter of so many buff"aloes had provided the 
party with beef for the winter, in case they met with no further 
supply, they now set to work, heart and hand, to build a comfor- 
table wigwam. In a little while the woody promontory rang 
with the unwonted sound of the axe. Some of its lofty trees 
were laid low, and by the second evening the cabin was complete. 
It was eight feet wide, and eighteen feet long. The walls were 
six feet high, and the whole was covered with buff"alo skins. The 
fireplace was in the centre, and the smoke found its way out by 
a hole in the roof 

The hunters were next sent out to procure deer skins for 
garments, moccasons, and other purposes. They made the 
mountains echo with their rifles, and, in the course of two days' 
hunting, killed twenty-eight bighorns and black-tailed deer. 

The party now revelled in abundance. After all that they 
had suffered from hunger, cold, fatigue and watchfulness ; after 
all their perils from treacherous and savage men, they exulted in 
the snugness and security of their isolated cabin, hidden, as they 
thought, even from the prying eyes of Indian scouts, and stored 
with creature comforts ; and they looked forward to a winter of 
peace and quietness ; of roasting, and boiling, and broiling, and 
feasting upon venison, and mountain mutton, and bear's meat, 
and marrowbones, and bufi"alo humps, and other hunter's dainties, 
and of dosing and reposing round their fire, and gossiping over 
nast dangers and adventures, and telling long hunting stories, 
until spring should return ; when they would make canoes of 
bufialo skins, and float themselves down the river. 



416 ASTORIA. 

From such halcyon dreams, they were startled one morning, 
at daybreak, by a savage yell. They started np and seized their 
rifles. The yell was repeated by two or three voices. Cautiously 
peeping out, they beheld, to their dismay, several Indian warriors 
among the trees, all armed and painted in warlike style ; being 
evidently bent on some hostile purpose. 

Miller changed countenance as he regarded them. ' We are 
in trouble," said he, " these are some of the rascally Arapahays 
that robbed me last year." Not a word was uttered by the rest 
cf the party, but they silently slung their powder horns and ball 
pouches, and prepared for battle. M'Lellan, who had taken his 
gun to pieces the evening before, put it together in all haftte. 
He proposed that they should break out the clay from between 
the logs, so as to be able to fire upon the enemy. 

" Not yet," replied Stuart ; " it will not do to show fear or 
distrust ; we must first hold a parley. Some one must go out 
and meet them as a friend." 

Who was to undertake the task ! it was full of peril, as the 
envoy might be shot down at the threshold. 

" The leader of a party," said Miller, " always takes the 
advance." • 

" Good !" replied Stuart ; "I am ready." He immediately 
went forth ; one of the Canadians followed him ; the rest of the 
party remained in garrison, to keep the savages in check. 

Stuart advanced holding his rifle in one hand, and extending 
the other to the savage that appeared to be the chief. The latter 
stepped forward and took it ; his men followed his example, and 
all shook hands with Stuart, in token of friendship. They now 
explained their errand. They were a war party of Arapahay 
braves. Their village lay on a stream several days' journey to 
the eastward. It had been attacked and ravaged during their 
absence, by a band of Crows, who had carried off several of theii 



UNWELCOME VISITORS. 417 



WJmet., and most of their horses. They were in quest of ven- 
geance. For sixteen days they had been tracking the Crows 
about the mountains, but had not yet come upon them. In the 
meantime, they had met with scarcely any game, and were half 
famished. About two days previously, they had heard the report 
of firearms among the mountains, and on searching in the direc- 
tion of the sound, had come to a place where a deer had been 
killed. They had immediately put themselves upon the track of 
the hunters, and by following it up, had arrived at the cabin. 

Mr. Stuart now invited the chief and another, who appeared 
to be his lieutenant, into the hut, but made signs that no one 
else was to enter. The rest halted at the door ; others came 
straggling up, until the whole party, to the number of twenty- 
three, were gathered before the hut. They were armed with 
bows and arrows, tomahawks and scalping knives, and some few 
with guns. All were painted and dressed for war, and had a wild 
and fierce appearance. Mr. Miller recognized among them some 
of the very fellows who had robbed him in the preceding year ; 
and put his comrades upon their guard. Every man stood ready 
to resist the first act of hostility ; the savages, however, con- 
ducted themselves peaceably, and showed none* of that swagger- 
ing arrogance which a war party is apt to assume. 

On entering the hut the chief and his lieutenant oast a wistful 
look at the rafters, laden with venison and bufialo meat. Mr. 
Stuart made a merit of necessity, and invited them to help them- 
selves. They did not wait to be pressed. The rafters were soon 
eased of their burden ; venison and beef were passed out to the 
crew before the door, and a scene of gormandizing commenced, 
of which few can have an idea, who have not witnessed the gas- 
tronomic powers of an Indian, after an interval of fasting. This 
was kept up throughout the day ; they paused now and then, it 
is true, for a brief interval, but only to return to the charge with 

18* 



418 ASTORIA. 



renewed ardor. The cliief and the lieutenant surpasiged all the 
rest in the vigor and perseverance of their attacks : as if, from 
their station they were bound to signalize themselves in all on- 
slaughts. Mr. Stuart kept them well supplied with choice bits, 
for it was his policy to overfeed them, and keep them from leav- 
ing the hut, where they served as hostages for the good conduct 
of their followers. Once, only, in the course of the day, did the 
chief sally forth, Mr. Stuart and one of his men accompanied 
him, armed with their rifles, but without betraying any distrust. 
The chieftain soon returned, and renewed his attack upon the 
larder. In a woid, he and his worthy coadjutor, the lieutenant, 
ate until they were both stupefied. 

Towards evening the Indians made their preparations for the 
night according to the practice of war parties. Those outside of 
the hut threw up two breastworks, into which they retired at a 
tolerably early hour, and slept like overfed hounds. As to the 
chief and his lieutenant, they passed the night in the hut, in the 
course of which, they, two or three times, got up to eat. The 
travellers took turns, one at a time, to mount guard until the 
morning. 

Scarce had tlie day dawned, when the gormandizing Avas 
renewed by the whole band, and carried on with surprising vigor 
until ten o'clock, when all prepared to depart. They had sis 
days' journey yet to make, they said, before they should come up 
with the Crows, who they understood were encamped on a river 
to the northward. Their way lay through a hungry country 
where there was no game ; they would, moreover, have but little 
time to hunt ; they, therefore, craved a small supply of provi- 
sions for their journey. Mr. Stuart again invited them to help 
themselves. They did so with keen forethought, loading them- 
selves with the choicest parts of the meat, and leaving the late 
plenteous larder far gone in a consumption. Their next request 



GOOD QUARTERS ABANDONED. 419 



was for a supply of ammunition, having guns, but no powder and 
ball. They promised to pay magnificently out of the spoils of 
their foray. " We are poor now," said they, " and are obliged to 
go on foot, but we shall soon come back laden with booty, and 
all mounted on horseback, with scalps hanging at our bridles. 
We will then give each of you 9. horse to keep you from being 
tired on your journey." 

" Well," said Mr. Stuart, " when you bring the horses, you 
shall have the ammunition, but not before." The Indians saw 
by his determined tone, that all further entreaty would be una- 
vailing, so they desisted, with a good-humored laugh, and went 
off exceedingly well freighted, both within and without, promis- 
ing to be back again in the course of a fortnight. 

No sooner were they out of hearing, than the luckless travel- 
lers held another council. The security of their cabin was at an 
end, and with it all their dreams of a quiet and cosey winter. 
They were between two fires. On one side were their old ene- 
mies, the Crows ; on the other side, the Arapahays, no less dan- 
gerous freebooters. As to the moderation of this war party, 
they considered it assumed, to put them off their guard against 
some more favorable opportunity for a surprisal. It was deter- 
mined, therefore, not to await their return, but to abandon, with 
all speed, this dangerous neighborhood. From the accounts of 
their recent visitors, they were led to believe, though erroneously, 
that they were upon the Quicourt, or Rapid River. They pro- 
posed now to keep along it to its confluence with the Missouri ; 
but, should they be prevented by the rigors of the season from 
proceeding so far, at least to reach a part of the river where they 
might be able to construct canoes of greater strength and dura- 
bility than those of buffalo skins. 

Accordingly, on the 13th of December, they bade adieu, with 
many a regret, to their comfortable quarters, where, for five 



420 



ASTORIA. 



weeks, they had been indulging the sweets of repose, of plenty, 
and of fancied security. They were still accompanied by their 
veteran pack-horse, which the Arapahays had omitted to steal, 
either because they intended to steal him on their return, or be- 
cause they thought him not worth stealing. 



WINTRY TRAVELLING. 421 



CHAPTER L. 

The interval of comfort and repose which the party had enjoyed 
in their wigwam, rendered the renewal of their fatigues intolera- 
ble for the first two or three days. The snow lay deep, and was 
slightly frozen on the surface, but not sufficiently to bear their 
weight. Their feet became sore by breaking through the crust, 
and their limbs weary by floundering on without firm foothold. 
So exhausted and dispirited were they, that they began to think 
it would be better to remain and run the risk of being killed by 
the Indians, than to drag on thus painfully, with the probability 
of perishing by the way. Their miserable horse fared no better 
than themselves, having for the first day or two no other fodder 
than the ends of willow twigs, and the bark of the cotton-wood 
tree. 

They all, however, appeared to gain patience and hardihood 
as they proceeded, and for fourteen days kept steadily on, making 
a distance of about three hundred and thirty miles. For some 
days, the range of mountains which had been near to their wig- 
wam kept parallel to the river at no great distance, but at length 
subsided into hills. Sometimes they found the river bordered 
with alluvial bottoms, and groves with cotton-wood and willows ; 
sometimes the adjacent country was naked and barren. In one 
place it ran for a considerable distance between rocky hills and 
promontories covered with cedar and pitch pines, and peopled 
with the bighorn and the mountain deer ; at other places it 
wandered through prairies well stocked with buffaloes and ante- 



422 ASTORIA. 

lopes. As they descended tlie course of the .river, they began to 
perceive the ash and white oak here and there among the cotton- 
wood and willow; and at length caught a sight of some wild 
horses on the distant prairies. 

The weather was various ; at one time tne snow lay deep ; 
then they had a genial day or two, with the mildness and serenity 
of autumn ; then, again, the frost was so severe that the river was 
sufficiently frozen to bear them upon the ice. 

During the last three days of their fortnight's travel, however, 
the face of the country changed. The timber gradually dimin- 
ished, until they could scarcely find fuel sufficient for culinary 
purposes. The game grew more and more scanty, and, finally, 
none were to be seen but a few miserable broken-down bufi"alo 
bulls, not worth killing. The snow lay fifteen inches deep, and 
made the travelling grievously painful and toilsome. At length 
they came to an immense plain, where no vestige of timber was 
to be seen ; nor a single quadruped to enliven the desolate land- 
scape. Here, then, their hearts failed them, and they held an- 
other consultation. The width of the river, which was upward? 
of a mile, its extreme shallowness, the freqviency of quicksands, 
and various other characteristics, had at length made them sensi- 
ble of their errors with respect to it, and they now came to the 
correct conclusion, that they were on the banks of the Platte or 
Shallow River. What were they to do ? Pursue its course to 
the Missouri? To go on at this season of the year seemed 
dangerous in the extreme. There was no prospect of obtaining - 
either food or firing. The country was destitute of trees, and 
though there might be drift-wood along the river, it lay too deep 
beneath the snow for them to find it. 

The weather was threatening a change, and a snow storm on 
these boundless wastes, might prove as fatal as a whirlwind of 
Band on an Arabian desert. After much dreary deliberation, it 



SECOND CANTONMENT. 423 



was at length determined to retrace tlieir three last days' journey, 
of seventy-seven miles, to a place which they had remarked : 
where there was a sheltering growth of forest trees, and a 
country abundant in game. Here they would once more set up 
their winter quarters, and await the opening of the navigation to 
launch themselves in canoes. 

Accordingly, on the 27th of December, they faced about, re- 
traced their steps, and on the 30th, regained the part of the 
river in question. Here the alluvial bottom was from one to two 
miles wide, and thickly covered with a forest of cotton-wood trees ; 
while herds of buffalo were scattered about the neighboring 
prairie, several of which soon fell beneath their rifles. 

They encamped on the margin of the river, in a grove where 
there were trees large euough for canoes. Here they put up a 
shed for immediate shelter, and immediately proceeded to erect 
a hut. New- Year's day dawned when, as yet, but one wall of 
their cabin was completed ; the genial and jovial day, however, 
was not permitted to pass uncelebrated, even by this weather- 
beaten crew of wanderers. All work was suspended, except that 
of roasting and boiling. The choicest of the buffalo meat, with 
tongues, and humps, and marrow bones, were devoured in quan- 
tities that would astonish any one that has not lived among 
hunters or Indians ; and as an extra regale, having no tobacco 
left, they cut; up an old tobacco pouch, still redolent with the 
potent herb, and smoked it in honor of the day. Thus for a 
time, in present revelry, however uncouth, they forgot all past 
troubles and all anxieties about the future, and their forlorn 
wigwam echoed to the sound of gayety. 

The next day they resumed their labors, and by the 6th of 
the month it was complete. They soon killed abundance of buffalo 
and again laid in a stock of winter provisions. 

The party were more fortunate in this their second canton^ 



424 ASTORIA. 



ment. The winter passed away without any Indian visitors; and 
the game continued to be plenty in the neighborhood. They 
felled two large trees, and shaped them into canoes ; and, as the 
spring opened, and a thaw of several days' continuance melted 
the ice in the river, they made every preparation for embarking. 
On the 8th of March they launched forth in their canoes, but 
soon found that the river had not depth sufficient even for such 
slender barks. It expanded into a wide but extremely shallow 
stream, with many sand-bars, and occasionally various channels. 
They got one of their canoes a few miles down it, with extreme 
difficulty, sometimes wading, and dragging it over the shoals ; at 
length they had to abandon the attempt, and to resume their 
journey on foot, aided by their faithful old pack-horse, who had 
recruited strength during the repose of the winter. 

The weather delayed them for a few days, having suddenly 
become more rigorous than it had been at any time during the 
winter ; but on the 20th of March they were again on their journey. 

In two days they arrived at the vast naked prairie, the wintry 
aspect of which had caused them, in December, to pause and turn 
back. It was now clothed in the early verdure of spring, and 
plentifully stocked with game. Still, when obliged to bivouac 
on its bare surface, without any shelter, and by a scanty fire of 
dry buffalo dung, they found the night blasts piercing cold. On 
one occasion, a herd of buffalo straying near their evening camp, 
they killed three of them merely for their hides, wherewith to 
make a shelter for the night. 

They continued on for upwards of a hundred miles ; with 
t^ast prairies extending before them as they advanced ; some- 
times diversified by undulating hills, but destitute of trees. In 
one place they saw a gang of sixty-five wild horses, but as to the 
buffaloes, they seemed absolutely to cover the country. Wild 
geese abounded, and they passed extensive swamps that were alive 



IMMENSE PLAINS. 435 



with innumerable flocks of waterfowl, among which were a few 
swans, but an endless variety of ducks. 

The river continued a winding course to the east-northeast, 
nearly a mile in width, but too shallow to float even an empty 
canoe. The country spread out into a vast level plain, bounded 
by the horizon alone, excepting to the north, where a line of hills 
seemed like a long promontory stretching into the bosom of the 
ocean. The dreary sameness of the prairie wastes began to grow 
extremely irksome. The travellers longed for the sight of a 
forest, or grove, or single tree, to break the level uniformity, and 
began to notice every object that gave reason to hope they were 
drawing towards the end of this weary wilderness. Thus the 
occurrence of a particular kind of grass was hailed as a proof 
that they could not be far from the bottoms of the Missouri ; 
and they were rejoiced at putting up several prairie hens, a kind 
of grouse seldom found far in the interior. In picking up drift- 
wood for fuel, also, they found on some pieces the mark of an 
axe, which caused much speculation as to the time when and the 
persons by whom the trees had been felled. Thus they went on, 
like sailors at sea, who perceive in every floating weed and wan- 
dering bird, harbingers of the wished-for land. 

By the close of the month the weather became very mild, and, 
heavily burdened as they were, they found the noontide tempera- 
ture uncomfortably warm. On the 30th, they came to three de- 
serted hunting camps, either of Pawnees or Ottoes, about which 
were buffalo skulls in all directions ; and the frames on which the 
hides had been stretched and cured. They had apparently been 
occupied the preceding autumn. 

For several days they kept patiently on, watching every sign 
that might give them an idea as to where they were, and how 
near to the banks of the Missouri. 

Though there were numerous traces of hunting parties and 



426 ASTORIA. 

encampments, they were not of recent date. The country seemed 
deserted. The only human beings they met with were three 
Pawnee squaws, in a hut in the midst of a deserted camp. Their 
people had all gone to the south, in pursuit of the baffalo, and 
had left these poor women behind, being too sick and infirm to 
travel. 

It is a common practice with the Pawnees, and probably with 
other roving tribes, when departing on a distant expedition, which 
will not admit of incumbrance or delay, to leave their aged and 
infirm with a supply of provisions sufiicient for a temporary sub- 
sistence. When this is exhausted, they must perish ; though 
sometimes their sufferings are abridged by hostile prowlers who 
may visit the deserted camp. 

The poor squaws in question expected some such fate at the 
hands of the white strangers, and though the latter accosted them 
in the kindest manner, and made them presents of dried buflPalo 
meat, it was impossible to soothe their alarm, or get any informa- 
tion from them. 

The first landmark by which the travellers were enabled to 
conjecture their position with any degree of confidence, was an 
island about seventy miles in length, which they presumed to be 
Grand Isle. If so, they were within one hundred and forty miles 
of the Missouri. They ke^it on, therefore, with renewed spirit, 
and at the end of three days met with an Otto Indian by whom 
they were confirmed in their conjecture. They learnt at the same 
time another piece of information, of an uncomfortable nature. 
According to his account, there was war between the United 
States and England, and in fact it had existed for a whole year, 
during which time they had been beyond the reach of all know- 
ledge of the affairs of the civilized world. 

The Otto conducted the travellers to his village, situated a 
short distance from the banks of the Platte. Here they were 



ARRIVAL AT FORT OSAGE. 421 



delighted to meet with two white men, Messrs. Dornin and Roi, 
Indian traders recently from St. Louis. Of these they had a 
thousand inquiries to make concerning all affairs, foreign and 
domestic, during their year of sepulture in the wilderness ; and 
especially about the events of the existing war. 

They now prepared to abandon their weary travel by land, 
and to embark upon the water. A bargain was made with Mr. 
Dornin, who engaged to furnish them with a canoe and provisions 
for the voyage, in exchange for their venerable and well-tried 
fellow traveller, the old Snake horse. 

Accordingly, in a couple of days, the Indians employed by 
that gentleman constructed for them a canoe twenty feet long, 
four feet wide, and eighteen inches deep. The frame was of poles 
and willow twigs, on which were stretched five elk and buffalo 
hides, sewed together with sinews, and the seams payed with 
unctuous mud. In this they embarked at an early hour on the 
16th of April, and drifted down ten miles with the stream, when 
the wind being high they encamped, and set to work to make 
oars, which they had not been able to procure at the Indian 
village. 

Once more afloat, they went merrily down the stream, and 
after making thirty-five miles, emerged into the broad turbid 
current of the Missouri. Here they were borne along briskly 
by the rapid stream, though, by the time their fragile bark hd 
floated a couple of hundred miles, its frame began to show the 
effects of the voyage. Luckily they came to the deserted win- 
tering place of some hunting party, where they found two old 
wooden canoes. Taking possession of the largest, they again 
committed themselves to the current, and after dropping down 
fifty-five miles further, arrived safely at Fort Osage. 

Here they found Lieutenant Brownson still in command ; 
the officer who had given the expedition a hospitable reception 



428 ASTORIA. 

on its way up the river, eighteen months previously. He received 
this remnant of the party with a cordial welcome, and endeavored 
in every way to promote their comfort and enjoyment during 
their sojourn at the fort. The greatest luxury they met with on 
their return to the abode of civilized man, was bread, not having 
tasted any for nearly a year. 

Their stay at Fort Osage was but short. On re-embarking 
they were furnished with an ample supply of provisions by the 
kindness of Lieutenant Brownson, and performed the rest of 
their voyage without adverse circumstance. On the 30th of 
April they arrived in perfect health and fine spirits at St. Louis, 
having been ten months in performing this perilous expedition 
from Astoria. Their return caused quite a sensation at the 
place, bringing the first intelligence of the fortune of Mr. Hunt 
and his party, in their adventurous route across the Kocky 
Mountains, and of the new establishment on the shores of the 
Pacific. 



COMMERCIAL ARRANGEMENTS. 429 



CHAPTER LI. 

It is now necessary, in linking together the parts of this ex- 
cursive narrative, that we notice the proceedings of Mr. Astor 
in support of his great undertaking. His project with respect 
to the Russian establishments along the northwest coast, had 
•)een diligently prosecuted. The agent sent by him to St. Peters- 
jurgh, to negotiate in his name as president of the American Fur 
Company, had, under sanction of the Russian government, made 
a provisional agreement with the Russian company. 

By this agreement, which was ratified by Mr. Astor in 1813, 
the two companies bound themselves not to interfere with each 
other's trading and hunting grounds, nor to furnish arms and 
ammunition to the Indians. They were to act in concert, also, 
against all interlopers, and to succor each other in case of dan- 
ger. The American company was to have the exclusive right of 
supplying the Russian posts with goods and necessaries, receiv- 
ing peltries in payment at stated prices. They were also, if so 
requested by the Russian governor, to eonvey the furs of the 
Russian company to Canton, sell them on commission, and bring 
back the proceeds, at such freight as might be agreed on at the 
time. This agreement was to continue in operation four years, 
and to be renewable for a similar term, unless some unforeseen 
contingency should render a modification necessary. 

It was calculated to be of great service to the infant estab- 
lishment at Astoria ; dispelling the fears of hostile rivalry on the 



430 ASTORIA. 

part of the foreign companies in its neighborhood, and giving a 
formidable blow to the irregular trade along the coast. It was 
also the intention of Mr. Astor to have coasting vessels of his 
own, at Astoria, of small tonnage and draft of water, fitted for 
coasting service. These, having a place of shelter and deposit, 
could ply about the coast in short voyages, in favorable weather, 
and would have vast advantage over chance ships, which must 
make long voyages, maintain numerous crews, and could on^y ap- 
proach the coast at certain seasons of the year. He hoped, 
therefore, gradually to make Astoria the great emporium of the 
American fur trade in the Pacific, and the nucleus of a powerful 
American state. Unfortunately for these sanguine anticipations, 
before Mr. Astor had ratified the agreement, as above stated, war 
broke out between the United States and Great Britain. He 
perceived at once the peril of the case. The harbor of New- York 
would doubtless be blockaded, and the departure of the annual 
supply ship in the autumn prevented ; or, if she should succeed 
in getting out to sea, she might be captured on her voyage. 

In this emergency, he wrote to Captain Sowle, commander of 
the Beaver. The letter, which was addressed to him at Canton, 
directed him to proceed to the factory at the mouth of the Co- 
lumbia, with such articles as the establishment might need ; and 
to remain there, subject to the orders of Mr. Hunt, should that 
gentleman be in command there. 

The war continued. No tidings had yet been received from 
Astoria ; the dispatches having been delayed by the misadventure 
of Mr. Reed at the falls of the Columbia, and the unhorsing of 
Mr. Stuart, by the Crows among the mountains. A painful un- 
certainty, also, prevailed about Mr. Hunt and his party. Nothing 
had been heard of them since their departure from the Arickara 
village ; Lisa, who parted from them there, had predicted their de- 
struction ; and some of the traders of the Northwest Company, 



RUMORS AND PERPLEXITIES. 431 



had actually spread a rumor of their having been cut off by 
the Indians. 

It was a hard trial of the courage and means of an individual, 
to have to fit out another costly expedition, where so much had 
already been expended, so much uncertainty prevailed, and where 
the risk of loss was so greatly enhanced, that no insurance could 
be effected. 

In spite of all these discouragements, Mr. Astor determined 
to send another ship to the relief of the settlement. He selected 
for this purpose, a vessel called the Lark, remarkable for her fast 
sailing. The disordered state of the times, however, caused such 
a delay, that February arrived, while the vessel was yet lingering 
in port. 

At this juncture, Mr. Astor learnt that the Northwest Com- 
pany were preparing to send out an armed ship of twenty guns, 
called the Isaac Todd, to form an establishment at the mouth of 
the Columbia. These tidings gave him great uneasiness. A 
considerable proportion of the persons in his employ were Scotch- 
men and Canadians, and several of them had been in the service 
of the Northwest Company. Should Mr. Hunt have failed to 
arrive at Astoria, the whole establishment would be under the 
control of Mr. M'Dougal, of whose fidelity he had received very 
disparaging accounts from Captain Thorn. The British govern- 
ment, also, might deem it worth while to send a force against the 
establishment, having been urged to do so some time previously, 
by the Northwest Companj^ 

Under all these circumstances, Mr. Astor wrote to Mr. Mon- 
roe, then secretary of state, requesting protection from the gov- 
ernment of the United States. He represented the importance 
of his settlement, in a commercial point of view, and the shelter 
it might afford to the American vessels in those seas. All he 
asked was. that the American government would throw forty or 



432 ASTORIA. 

fifty men into the fort at his establishment, which would be suffi- 
cient for its defence, until he could send reinforcements over 
land. 

He waited in vain for a reply to this letter, the government, 
no doubt, being engrossed at the time, by an overwhelming crowd 
of affairs. The month of March arrived, and the Lark was 
ordered by Mr. Astor, to put to sea. The officer who was to 
command her, shrunk from his engagement, and in the exigency 
of the moment, she was given in charge to Mr. Northrop, the 
mate. Mr. Nicholas Gr. Ogden, a gentleman on whose talents and 
integrity the highest reliance could be placed, sailed as super 
cargo. The Lark put to sea in the beginning of March, 1813. 

By this opportunity, Mr. Astor wrote to Mr. Hunt, as head 
of the establishment at the mouth of the Columbia, for he would 
not allow himself to doubt of his welfare. " I always think you 
are well," said he, " and that I shall see you again, which heaven, 
I hope, will grant." 

He warned him to be on his guard against any attempts to 
surprise the post ; suggesting the probability of armed hostility 
on the part of the Northwest Company, and expressing his indig- 
nation at the ungrateful returns made by that association for his 
frank and open conduct, and advantageous overtures. " Were I 
on the spot," said he, " and had the management of affairs, I 
would defy them all ; but, as it is, every thing depends upon you 
and your friends about jo\i. Our entcrjmse is grand, and 
dcsei'ves success, and I hope in God it icill meet it. If my 
object was merely gain of money, I should say, think whether it 
is best to save what we can, and abandon the place ; but tlie very 
idea is like a dagger to my Jieart." This extract is sufficient to 
show the spirit and the views which actuated Mr. Astor in this 
great undertaking. 

Week after week, and month after month elapsed, without 



GLOOMY DOUBTS— A RAY OF HOPE. 433 



any thing to dispel the painful incertitude that hung ovei' every 
part of this enterprise. Though a man of resolute spirit, and 
not easily cast down, the dangers impending over this darling 
scheme of his ambition, had a gradual effect upon the spirits of 
Mr. Astor. He was sitting one gloomy evening by his window 
revolving over the loss of the Tonquin, and the fate of her unfor- 
tunate crew, and fearing that some equally tragical calamity 
might have befallen the adventurers across the mountains, when 
the evening newspaper was brought to him. The first paragraph 
that caught his eye, announced the arrival of Mr, Stuart and his 
party at St. Louis, with intelligence that Mr. Hunt and his com- 
panions had effected their perilous expedition to the mouth of 
the Columbia. This was a gleam of sunshine that for a time 
dispelled every cloud, and he now looked forward with sanguine 
hope to the accomplishment of all his plans. 



19 



434 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER III. 

The course of our narrative now takes us back to the reglcnf? 
beyond the mountains, to dispose of the parties that set out from 
Astoria, in company with Mr. Robert Stuart, and whom he left 
on the banks of the "Wallah- Wallah. Those parties, likewise 
separated from each other shortly after his departure, proceeding 
to their respective destinations, but agreeing to meet at the 
mouth of the Wallah-Wallah, about the beginning of June in the 
following year, with such peltries as they should have collected 
in the interior, so as to convoy each other through the dangerous 
passes of the Columbia. 

Mr. David Stuart, one of the partners, proceeded with his men 
to the post already established by him at the mouth of the 
Oakinagan ; having furnished this with goods and ammunition, 
he proceeded three hundred miles up that river, where he 
established another post in a good trading neighborhood. 

Mr. Clarke, another partner, conducted his little band up 
Lewis River to the mouth of a small stream coming in from the 
north, to which the Canadians gave the name of the Pavion. 
Here he found a village or encampment of forty huts or tents, 
covered with mats, and inhabited by Nez Forces, or pierced-nose 
Indians, as they are called by the traders ; but Chipunnish, as 
they are called by themselves. They are a hardy, laborious, and 
somewhat knavish race, who lead a precarious life, fishing, and 
digging roots during the summer and autumn, hunting the deer 
on snow shoes during the winter, and traversing the Rocky 



CLARKE'S POST. 435 



Mountains in the spring, to trade for buflFalo skins with the 
hunting tribes of the Missouri. In these migrations they are 
liable to be waylaid and attacked by the Blackfeet, and other 
warlike and predatory tribes, and driven back across the moun- 
tains with the loss of their horses, and of many of their comrades. 

A life of this unsettled and precarious kind is apt to render 
men selfish, and such Mr. Clarke found the inhabitants of this 
village, who were deficient in the usual hospitality of Indians ; 
parting with every thing with extreme reluctance, and showing 
no sensibility to any act of kindness. At the time of his arrival, 
they were all occupied in catching and curing salmon. The men 
were stout, robust, active, and good looking, and the women hand- 
somer than those of the tribes nearer to the coast. 

It was the plan of Mr. Clarke to lay up his boats here, and 
proceed by land to his place of destination, which was among the 
Spokan tribe of Indians, about a hundred and fifty miles distant. 
He accordingly endeavored to purchase horses for the journey, 
but in this he had to contend with the sordid disposition of these 
people. They asked high prices for their horses, and were so 
difiicult to deal with, that Mr. Clarke was detained seven days 
among them, before he could procure a sufficient number. During 
that time he was annoyed by repeated pilferings, for which he 
could get no redress. The chief promised to recover the stolen 
articles ; but failed to do so, alleging that the thieves belonged 
to a distant tribe, and had made ofi" with their booty. With this 
excuse Mr. Clarke was fain to content himself, though he laid up 
in his heart a bitter grudge against the whole pierced-nose race, 
which it will be found he took occasion subsequently to gratify 
in a signal manner. 

Having made arrangements for his departure, Mr. Clarke laid 
up his barge and canoes in a sheltered place, on the banks of a 
small bay, overgrown with shrubs and willows, confiding them to 



436 ASTORIA. 

the care of the Nez Perce cliief, who, on being promised an ample 
compensation, engaged to have a guardian eye upon them ; then 
mounting his steed, and putting himself at the head of his little 
caravan, he shook the dust off his feet as he turned his bacli 
upon this village of rogues and hard dealers. We shall not fol 
low him minutely in his journey ; which lay at times over steep 
and rocky hills, and among crags and precipices ; at other times 
over vast naked and sunburnt plains, abounding with rattle- 
snakes, in traversing which, both men and horses suffered intol- 
erably from heat and thirst. The place on which he fixed for a 
trading post, was a fine point of land, at the junction of the 
Pointed Heart and Spokan Rivers. His establishment was 
intended to compete with a trading post of the Northwest Com- 
pany, situated at no great distance, and to rival it in the trade 
with the Spokan Indians ; as well as with the Cootonais and 
Flatheads. In this neighborhood we shall leave him for the 
present. 

Mr. M'Kenzie, who conducted the third party from the "Wal- 
lah-Wallah, navigated for several days up the south branch of the 
Columbia, named the Camoenum by the natives, but commonly 
called Lewis River, in honor of the first explorer. Wandering 
bands of various tribes were seen along this river, travelling in 
various directions ; for the Indians generally are restless, roving 
beings, continually intent on enterprises of war, traffic, and hunt- 
ing. Some of these people were driving large gangs of horses, 
as if to a distant market. Having arrived at the mouth of the 
Shahaptan, he ascended some distance up that river, and estab- 
lished his trading post upon its banks. This appeared to be a 
great thoroughfare for the tribes from the neighborhood of the 
falls of the Columbia, in their expeditions to make war upon the 
tribes of the Rocky Mountains ; to hunt buffalo on the plains 
beyond, or to traffic for roots and buffalo robes. It was the sea 



J 



CANADIAN STRAGGLERS. 437 



Bon of migration, and the Indians from various distant parts were 
passing and repassing in great numbers. 

Mr. M'Kenzie now detached a small band, under the conduct 
of Mr. John Reed, to visit the caches made by Mr. Hunt at the 
Caldron Linn, and to bring the contents to his post ; as he de- 
pended, in some measure, on them for his supplies of goods and 
ammunition. They had not been gone a week, when two Indians 
arrived of the Pallatapalla tribe, who live upon a river of the 
same name. These communicated the unwelcome intelligence 
that the caches had been robbed. They said that some of their 
tribe had, in the course of the preceding spring, been across the 
mountains, which sepai-ated them from Snake River, and had 
traded horses with the Snakes in exchange for blankets, robes, 
and goods of various descriptions. These articles the Snakes 
had procured from caches to which they were guided by some 
white men who resided among them, and who afterwards accom- 
panied them across the Rocky Mountains. This intelligence was 
extremely perplexing to Mr. M'Kenzie, but the truth of part of 
it was confirmed by the two Indians, who brought them an 
English saddle and bridle, which was recognized as having 
belonged to Mr. Crooks. The perfidy of the white men who 
revealed the secret of the caches, was, however, perfectly inexpli- 
cable. "We shall presently account for it in narrating the expe- 
dition of Mr. Reed. 

That worthy Hibernian proceeded on his mission with his 
usual alacrity. His forlorn travels of the preceding winter had 
made him acquainted with the topography of the country, and he 
reached Snake River without any material difficulty. Here, in 
an encampment of the natives, he met with sis white men, wan- 
derers from the main expedition of Mr. Hunt, who, after having 
had their respective shares of adventures and mishaps, had fortu- 



438 ASTORIA. 

nately come together at this place. Three of these men were 
Turcotte, La Chapelle, and Francis Landry ; the three Cana- 
dian voyageurs who, it may be recollected, had left Mr. Crooks 
in February, in the neighborhood of Snake River, being dismayed 
by the increasing hardships of the journey, and fearful of per- 
i&ning of hunger. They had returned to a Snake encampment, 
where they passed the residue of the winter. 

Early in the spring, being utterly destitute, and in great 
extremity, and having worn out the hospitality of the Snakes, 
they determined to avail themselves of the buried treasures 
within their knowledge. They accordingly informed the Snake 
chieftains that they knew where a great quantity of goods had 
been left in caches, enough to enrich the whole tribe ; and offered 
to conduct them to the place, on condition of being rewarded 
with horses and provisions. The chieftains pledged their faith 
and honor as great men and Snakes, and the three Canadians 
conducted them to the place of deposit at the Caldron Linn. 
This is the way that the savages got knowledge of the caches, 
and not by following the tracks of wolves, as Mr. Stuart had 
supposed. Never did money diggers turn up a miser's hoard 
with more eager delight, than did the savages lay open the trea- 
sures of the caches. Blankets and robes ; brass trinkets and blue 
beads were drawn forth with chuckling exultation, and long 
strips of scarlet cloth produced yells of ecstasy. 

The rifling of the caches effected a change in the fortunes and 
deportment of the whole party. The Snakes were better clad 
and equipped than ever were Snakes before, and the three Cana- 
dians, suddenly finding themselves with horse to ride and weapon 
to wear, were, like beggars on horseback, ready to ride on any 
wild scamper. An opportunity soon presented. The Snakes 
determined on a hurting match on the buffalo prairies, to lay in 



MORE STRAGGLERS. 439 



a supply of beef, that they might live in plenty, as becanae men 
of their improved condition. The three newly mounted cavaliers 
must fain accompany them. They all traversed the Rocky 
Mountains in safety, descended to the head waters of the Mis- 
souri, and made great havoc among the buffaloes. 

Their hunting camp was full of meat ; they were gorging 
themselves, like true Indians, with present plenty, and drying 
and jerking great quantities for a winter's supply. In the midst 
of their revelry and good cheer, the camp was surprised by the 
Blackfeet. Several of the Snakes were slain on the spot ; the 
residue, with their three Canadian allies, fled to the mountains, 
stripped of horses, buffalo meat, every thing ; and made their 
way back to the old encampment on Snake River, poorer than 
ever, but esteeming themselves fortunate in having escaped with 
their lives. They had not been long there when the Canadians 
were cheered by the sight of a companion in misfortune, Dubreuil, 
the poor voj-ageur who had left Mr. Crooks in March, being too 
much exhausted to keep on with him. Not long afterwards, three 
other straggling members of the main expedition made their 
appearance. These were Carson, St. Michael, and Pierre Delau- 
nay, three of the trappers who, in company with Pierre Detaye, 
had been left among the mountains by Mr. Hunt, to trap beaver, 
in the preceding month of September. They had departed from 
the main body well armed and provided, with horses to ride, and 
horses to carry the peltries they were to collect They came wan- 
dering into the Snake camp as ragged and destitute as their prede- 
cessors. It appears that they had finished their trapping, and were 
making their way in the spring to the Missouri, when they were 
met and attacked by a powerful band of the all-pervading Crows. 
They made a desperate resistance, and killed seven of the savages, 
but were overpowered by numbers. Pierre Detaye was slain, the 



440 ASTORIA 

rest were robbed of horses and effects, and obliged to turn back, 
when they fell in with their old companions, as already men- 
tioned. 

We should observe, that at the heels of Pierre Delaunay came 
draggling an Indian wife, whom he had picked up in his wander 
ings ; having grown weary of celibacy among the savages. 

The whole seven of this forlorn fraternity jf adventurers, 
thus accidentally congregated on the banks of Snake Kiver, were 
making arrangements once more to cross the mountains, when 
some Indian scouts brought word of the approach of the little 
band headed by John Reed. 

The latter, having heard the several stories of these wander- 
ers, took them all into his party, and set out for the Caldron 
Linn, to clear out two or three of the caches which had not been 
revealed to the Indians. 

At that place he met with Robinson, the Kentucky veteran, 
who, with his two comrades, Rezner and Hoback, had remained 
there when Mr. Stuart went on. This adventurous trio had been 
trapping higher up the river, but Robinson had come down in a 
canoe, to await the expected arrival of the party, and obtain 
horses and equipments. He told Reed the story of the robbery 
of his party by the Arapahays, but it differed, in some particulars, 
from the account given by him to Mr. Stuart. In that, he had 
represented Cass as having shamefully deserted his companions 
in their extremity, carrying off with him a horse ; in the one 
now given, he spoke of him as having been killed in the affray 
with the Arapahays. This discrepancy, of which, of course, 
Reed could have had no knowledge at the time, concurred with 
other circumstances, to occasion afterwards some mysterious 
speculations and dark surmises, as to the real fate of Cass ; but 
as no substantial grounds were ever adduced for them, we forbear 



ARRIVAL AT M'KENZIE'S POST 441 



to throw any deeper shades into this story of sufferings in the 
wilderness. 

Mr. Reed having gathered the remainder of the goods from 
the caches, put himself at the head of his party, now augmented 
by the seven men thus casually picked up, and the squaw of 
Pierre Delaunay, and made his way successfully to M'Kenzie's 
Post, on the waters of the Shahaptan. 



19* 



442 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER LIII. 

After the departure of the different detachments, or brigades^ 
as they are called by the fur traders, the Beaver prepared for her 
voyage along the coast, and her visit to the Russian establish- 
ment, at New Archangel, where she was to carry supplies. It 
had been determined in the council of partners at Astoria, that 
Mr. Hunt should embark in this vessel, for the purpose of ac- 
quainting himself with the coasting trade, and of making arrange- 
ments with the commander of the Russian post, and that he 
should be relanded in October, at Astoria, by the Beaver, on her 
way to the Sandwich Islands, and Canton. 

The Beaver put to sea in the month of August. Her depar- 
ture, and that of the various brigades, left the fortress of Astoria 
but slightly garrisoned. This was soon perceived by some of the 
Indian tribes, and the consequence was, increased insolence of 
deportment, and a disposition to hostility. It was now the fish- 
ing season, when the tribes from the northern coast drew into the 
neighborhood of the Columbia. These were warlike and perfi- 
dious in their dispositions ; and noted for their attempts to sur- 
prise trading ships. Among them were numbers of the Newce- 
tees, the ferocious tribe that massacred the crew of the Tonquin. 

Great precautions, therefore, were taken at the factory, to 
guard against surprise while these dangerous intruders were in 
the vicinity. Galleries were consti'ucted inside of the palisades ; 
the bastions were heightened, and sentinels were posted day and 
night. Fortunately, the Chinooks and other tribes resident in 
the vicinity manifested the most pacific disposition. Old Com- 



GLOOMY APPREHENSIONS. 443 



coiuly, who held sway over them, was a shrewd calculator. He 
was aware of the advantages of having the whites as neighbors 
and allies, and of the consequence derived to himself and his 
people from acting as intermediate traders between them and the 
distant tribes. He had, therefore, by this time, become a firm 
friend of the Astorians, and formed a kind of barrier between 
them and the hostile intruders from the north. 

The summer of 1812 passed away without any of the hostili- 
ties that had been apprehended ; the Neweetees, and other dan- 
gerous visitors to the neighborhood, finished their fishing and re- 
turned home, and the inmates of the factory once more felt secure 
from attack. 

It now became necessary to guard against other evils. The 
season of scarcity arrived, which commences in October, and lasts 
until the end of January. To provide for the support of the 
garrison, the shallop was employed to forage about the shores of 
the river. A number of the men, also, under the command of 
some of the clerks, were sent to quarter themselves on the banks 
of the Wollamut, (the Multnomah of Lewis and Clark,) a fine 
river which disembogues itself into the Columbia, about sixty 
miles above Astoria. The country bordering on the river is 
finely diversified with prairies and hills, and forests of oak, ash, 
maple and cedar. It abounded, at that time, with elk and deer, 
and the streams were well stocked with beaver. Here the party, 
after supplying their own wants, Avere enabled to pack up quanti- 
ties of dried meat, and send it by canoes to Astoria. 

The month of October elapsed without the return of the 
Beaver. November, December, January, passed away, and still 
nothing was seen or heard of her. Gloomy apprehensions now 
began to be entertained : she might have been wrecked in the 
course of her coasting voyage, or surprised, like the Tonquin, by 
some of the treacherous tribes of the north. 



444 ASTORIA. 

No one indulged more in these apprehensions than M'Dougal, 
who had now the charge of the establishment. He no longer 
evinced the bustling confidence and buoyancy which once charac- 
terized him. Command seemed to have lost its charms for him ; 
or rather, he gave way to the most abject despondency, decrying 
the whole enterprise, magnifying every untoward circumstance, 
and foreboding nothing but evil. 

While in this moody state, he was surprised, on the 16th of 
January, by the sudden appearance of M'Kenzie, wayworn and 
weather-beaten by a long wintry journey from his post on the 
Shahaptan, and with a face the very frontispiece for a volume of 
misfortune M'Kenzie had been heartily disgusted and disap- 
pointed at his post. It was in the midst of the Tushepaws, a 
powerful and warlike nation, divided into many tribes, under dif- 
ferent chiefs, who possessed innumerable horses, but, not having 
turned their attention to beaver trapping, had no furs to offer. 
According to M'Kenzie, they were but a " rascally tribe ;" from 
which we may infer that they were prone to consult their own in- 
terests, more than comported with the interests of a greedy 
Indian trader. 

Game being scarce, he was obliged to rely, for the most part, 
on horse-flesh for subsistence, and the Indians discovering his 
necessities, adopted a policy usual in civilized trade, and raised 
the price of horses to an exorbitant rate, knowing that he and 
his men must eat or die. In this way, the goods he had brought 
to trade for beaver-skins, were likely to be bartered for horse- 
flesh, and all the proceeds devoured upon the spot. 

He had dispatched trappers in various directions, but the 
country around did not ofiier more beaver than his own station. 
In this emergency he began to think of abandoning his unprofit- 
able post, sending his goods to the posts of Clarke and David 
Stuart, who could make a better use of them, as they were in a 



A RASH RLSOLUTION. 445 

good beaver country, and returning with his party to Astoria, to 
seek some better destination. With this view he repaired to the 
post of Mr. Clarke, to hold a consultation. While the two part- 
ners were in conference in Mr. Clarke's wigwam, an unexpected 
visitor came bustling in upon them. 

This was Mr. John George M'Tavish, a partner of the North- 
west Company, who had charge of the rival trading posts estab- 
lished in that neighborhood. Mr. M'Tavish was the delighted 
messenger of bad news. He had been to Lake Winnipeg, where 
he received an express from Canada, containing the declaration 
of war, and President Madison's proclamation, which he handed 
with the most officious complaisance to Messrs. Clarke and 
M'Kenzie. He moreover told them that he had received a fresh 
supply of goods from the northwest posts on the other side of 
the Eocky Mountains, and was prepared for vigorous opposition 
to the establishment of the American Company. He capped the 
climax of this obliging, but belligerent intelligence, by informing 
them that the armed ship, Isaac Todd, was to be at the mouth of 
the Columbia about the beginning of March, to get possession of 
the trade of the river, and that he was ordered to join her there 
at that time. 

The receipt of this news determined M'Kenzie. He imme- 
diately returned to the Shahaptan, broke up his establishment, 
deposited his goods in caclie, and hastened, with all his people to 
Astoria. 

The intelligence thus brought, completed the dismay of 
M'Dougal, and seemed to produce a complete confusion of mind. 
He held a council of war with M'Kenzie, at which some of the 
clerks were present, but of course had no votes. They gave up 
all hope of maintaining their post at Astoria. The Beaver had 
probably been lost ; they could receive no aid from the United 
States, as all the ports would be blockaded. From England 



446 ASTORIA. 

nothing could be expected but hostility. It was determined; 
therefore, to abandon the establishment in the course of the fol- 
lowing spring, and return across the Rocky Mountains. 

In pursuance of this resolution, they suspended all trade with 
the natives, except for provisions, having already more peltries 
than they could carry away, and having need of all the goods for 
the clothing and subsistence of their people, during the remain- 
der of their sojourn, and on their journey across the mouri tains 
This intention of abandoning Astoria was, however, kept secret 
from the men, lest they should at once give up all labor, and be- 
come restless and insubordinate. 

In the meantime, M'Kenzie set off for his post at the Shahap- 
tan, to get his goods from the caches, and buy horses and provi- 
sions with them for the caravan across the mountains. He was 
charged with dispatches from M'Dougal to Messrs. Stuart and 
Clarke, apprizing them of the intended migration, that they might 
make timely preparations. 

M'Kenzie was accompanied by two of the clerks, Mr. John 
Reed, the Irishman, and Mr. Alfred Seton, of New- York. They 
embarked in two canoes, manned by seventeen men, and ascended 
the river without any incident of importance, until they arrived 
in the eventful neighborhood of the rapids. They made the 
portage of the narrows and the falls early in the afternoon, and, 
having partaken of a scanty meal, had now a long evening on 
their hands. 

On the opposite side of the river lay the village of Wish-ram^ 
of freebooting renown. Here lived the savages who had robbed 
and maltreated Reed, when bearing his tin box of dispatches. It 
was known that the rifle of which he was despoiled was retained 
as a trophy at the village. M'Kenzie offered to cross the river, 
and demand the rifle, if any one would accompany him. It was 
a hair-brained project, for these villages were noted for the ruf- 



A DEN OF RUFFIANS. ' 447 



fian character of their iuliabitants ; yet two volunteers promptly 
stepped forward ; Alfred Seton, the clerk, and Joe de la Pierre, 
the cook. The trio soon reached the opposite side of the river. 
On landings they freshly primed their rifles and pistols. A path 
winding for about a hundred yards among rocks and crags, led 
to the village. No notice seemed to be taken of their approach 
Not a solitary being, man, woman, or child, greeted them. The 
very dogs, those noisy pests of an Indian town, kept silence. On 
entering the village, a boy made his appearance, and pointed to a 
house of larger dimensions than the rest. They had to stoop to 
enter it ; as soon as they had passed the threshold, the narrow 
passage behind them was filled up by a sudden rush of Indians, 
who had before kept out of sight. 

M'Kenzio and his companions found themselves in a rude 
chamber of about twenty-five feet long, and twenty wide. A 
bright fire was blazing at one end, near which sat the chief, about 
sixty years old. A large number of Indians, wrapped in bufialo 
robes, were squatted in rows, three deep, forming a semicircle 
round three sides of the room. A single glance around sufficed 
to show them the grim and dangerous assembly into which they 
had intruded, and that all retreat was cut off by the mass which 
blocked up the entrance. 

The chief pointed to the vacant side of the room opposite to 
the door, and motioned for them to take their seats. They com- 
plied. A dead pause ensued. The grim warriors around sat like 
statues ; each muffled in his robe, with his fierce eyes bent on tho 
intruders. The latter felt they were in a perilous predicament. 

" Keep your eyes on the chief while I am addressing him," 
said M'Kenzie to his companions. " Should he give any sign to 
his band, shoot him, and make for the door." 

M'Kenzie advanced, and offered the pipe of peace to the 
chief, but it was refused. He then made a regular peech, 



448 ASTORIA. 



explaining the object of their visit, and proposing to give in 
exchange for the rifle two blankets, an axe, some beads and 
tobacco. 

When he had done, the chief rose, began to address him in a 
low voice, but soon become loud and violent, and ended by work- 
ing himself up into a furious passion. He upbraided the white 
men for their sordid conduct in passing and repassing through 
their neighborhood, without giving them a blanket or any other 
article of goods, merely because they had no furs to barter in 
exchange ; and he alluded, with menaces of vengeance, to the 
death of the Indian killed by the whites in the skirmish at the 
falls. 

Matters were verging to a crisis. It was evident the sur- 
rounding savages were only waiting a signal from the chief to 
spring upon their prey. M'Kenzie and his companions had 
gradually risen on their feet during the speech, and had brought 
their rifles to a horizontal position, the barrels resting in their 
left hands ; the muzzle of M'Kenzie's piece was within three feet 
of the speaker's heart. They cocked their rifles ; the click of the 
locks for a moment sufi'used the dark cheek of the savage, and 
there was a pause. They coolly, but promptly, advanced to the 
door ; the Indians fell back in awe, and suffered them to pass. 
The sun was just setting, as they emerged from this dangerous 
den. They took the precaution to keep along the tops of the 
rocks as much as possible on their way back to the canoe, and 
reached their camp in safety, congratulating themselves on their 
escape, and feeling no desire to make a second visit to the grim 
warriors of Wish-ram. 

M'Kenzie and his party resumed their journey the next 
morning. At some distance above the falls of the Columbia, 
they observed two bark canoes, filled with white men, coming 
down the river, to the full chant of a set of Canadian voyageurs 



THE RIFLED CACHES. 449 



A parley ensued. It was a detachment of northwesters, under 
the command of Mr. John George M'Tavish, bound, full of song 
and spirit, to the mouth of the Columbia, to await the arrival of 
the Isaac Todd. 

Mr. M'Kenzie and M'Tavish came to a halt, and landing, 
encamped together for the night. The voyageurs of either party 
hailed each other as brothers, and old " comrades," and they 
mingled together as if united by one common interest, instead of 
belonging to rival companies, and trading under hostile flags. 

In the morning they proceeded on their different ways, in style 
corresponding to their different fortunes : the one toiling pain- 
fully against the stream, the other sweeping down gayly with the 
current. 

M'Kenzie arrived safely at his deserted post on the Shahaptan, 
but found, to his chagrin, that his caches had been discovered 
and rifled by the Indians. Here was a dilemma, for, on the 
stolen goods he had depended to purchase horses of the Indians. 
He sent out men in all directions to endeavor to discover the 
thieves, and dispatched Mi*. Reed to the posts of Messrs. Clarke 
and David Stuart, with the letters of Mr. M'Dougal. 

The resolution announced in these letters, to break up and 
depart from Astoria, was condemned by both Clarke and Stuart. 
These two gentlemen had been very successful at their posts, 
and considered it rash and pusillanimous to abandon, on the first 
difficulty, an enterprise of such great cost and ample promise. 
They made no arrangements, therefore, for leaving the country, 
but acted with a view to the maintenance of their new and pros- 
perous establishments. 

The regular time approached, when the partners of the inte- 
rior posts were to rendezvous at the mouth of the Wallah-Wallah, 
on their way to Astoria, with the peltries they had collected. 
Mr. Clarke accordingly packed all his furs on twenty-eight horses, 



450 ASTORIA. 



and, leaving a clerk and four men to take charge of the postj 
departed on the 25th of May with the residue of his force. 

On the 30th, he arrived at the confluence of the Pavion and 
Lewis Rivers, where he had left his barge and canoes, in the 
guardianship of the old Pierced-nose chieftain. That dignitary 
had acquitted himself more faithfully of his charge than Mi*. 
Clarke had expected, and the canoes were found in very tolerable 
order. Some repairs were necessary, and, while they were 
making, the party encamped close by the village. Having had 
repeated and vexatious proofs of the pilfering propensities of 
this tribe during his former visit, Mr. Clarke ordered that a 
wary eye should be kept upon them. 

He was a tall, good-looking man, and somewhat given to pomp 
and circumstance, which made him an object of note in the eyes 
of the wondering savages. Pie was stately, too, in his appoint- 
ments, and had a silver goblet or drinking cup, out of which he 
would drink with a magnificent air, and then lock it up in a large 
{jarde vin^ which accompanied him in his travels, and stood in 
his tent. This goblet had originally been sent as a present from 
Mr. Astor to Mr. M'Kay, the partner who had unfortunately 
been blown up in the Tonquin. As it reached Astoria after the 
departure of that gentleman, it had remained in the possession 
of Mr. Clarke. 

A silver goblet was too glittering a prize not to catch the eye 
of a Pierced-nose. It was like the shining tin case of John Reed. 
Such a wonder had never been seen in the land before. The In- 
dians talked about it to one another. They marked the care with 
which it was deposited in the garde viii, like a relic in its shrine, 
and concluded that it must be a " great medicine." That night 
Mr. Clarke neglected to lock up his treasure ; in the morning the 
Bacred casket was open — the precious relic gone I 

Clarke was now outrageous. All the past vexations that he 



AN EXECUTION. 451 



had suffered from this pilfering community rose to mind, and he 
threatened, that, unless the goblet was promptly returned, he 
would hang the thief should he eventually discover him. The 
day passed away, however, without the restoration of the cup. 
At night sentinels were secretly posted about the camp. With 
all their vigilance, a Pierced-nose contrived to get into the camp 
unperceived, and to load himself with booty ; it was only on his 
retreat that he was discovered and taken. 

At daybreak the culprit was brought to trial, and promptly 
convicted. He stood responsible for all the spoliations of the 
camp, the precious goblet among the number, and Mr. Clarke 
passed sentence of death upon him. 

A gibbet was accordingly constructed of oars : the chief of 
the village and his people were assembled, and the culprit was 
produced, with his legs and arms pinioned. Clarke then made 
a harangue. He reminded the tribe of the benefits he had be- 
stowed upon them during his former visits, and the many thefts 
and other misdeeds which he had overlooked. The prisoner, 
especially, had always been peculiarly well treated by the white 
men, but had repeatedly been guilty of pilfering. He was to be 
punished for his own misdeeds, and as a warning to his tribe. 

The Indians now gathered round Mr. Clarke, and interceded 
for the culprit. They were willing he should be punished se- 
verely, but implored that his life might be spared. The compan- 
ions, too, of Mr. Clarke, considered the sentence too severe, and 
advised him to mitigate it ; but he was inexorable. He was not 
naturally a stern or cruel man ; but from his boyhood he had 
lived in the Indian country among Indian traders, and held the 
life of a savage extremely cheap. He was, moreover, a firm be- 
liever in the doctrine of intimidation. 

Farnham, a clerk, a tall " Green Mountain boy" from Ver- 
mont, who had been robbed of a pistol, acted as executioner. 



452 ASTORIA. 

The signal was given, and the poor Pierced-nose, resisting, strug- 
gling, and screaming, in the most frightful manner, was launched 
into eternity. The Indians stood round gazing in silence and 
mute awe, but made no attempt to oppose the execution, nor tes 
tified any emotion when it was over. They locked up their feel 
ings within their bosoms until an opportunity should arrive t> 
gratify them with a bloody act of vengeance. 

To say nothing of the needless severity of' this act, its im- 
policy was glaringly obvious. Mr. M'Lennan and three men were 
to return to the post with the horses, their loads having been 
transferred to the canoes. They would have to pass through a 
tract of country infested by this tribe, who were all horsemen 
and hard riders, and might pursue them to take vengeance for 
the death of their comrade. M'Lennan, however, was a resolute 
fellow, and made light of all dangers. He and his three men 
were present at the execution, and set off as soon as life was ex- 
tinct in the victim ; but, to use the words of one of their com- 
rades, " they did not let the grass grow under the heels of their 
horses, as they clattered out of the Pierced-nosed country," and 
were glad to find themselves in safety at the post. 

Mr. Clarke and his party embarked about the same time in 
their canoes, and early on the following day reached the mouth 
of the Wallah- Wallah, where they found Messrs. Stuart and 
M'Kenzie awaiting them ; the latter having recovered part of the 
goods stolen from his cache. Clarke informed them of the signal 
punishment he had inflicted on the Pierced-nose, evidently ex- 
pecting to excite their admiration by such a hardy act of justice, 
performed in the very midst of the Indian country, but was mor- 
tified at finding it strongly censured as inhuman, unnecessary, 
and likely to provoke hostilities. 

The parties thus united formed a squadron of two boats and 
six canoes, with whicli they performed their voyage in safety down 



PELTRIES FROM THE WALLAMUl 453 



the river, and arrived at Astoria on the 12th of «/une, bringing 
with them a valuable stock of peltries. 

About ten days previously, the brigade which had been quar- 
tered on the banks of the Wollamut, had arrived with numeroua 
packs of beaver, the result of a few months' sojourn on that 
river. These were the first fruits of the enterprise, gathered by 
men as yet mere strangers in the land ; but they were such as to 
give substantial grounds for sanguine anticipations of profit, 
when the country should be more completely explored, and the 
trade established. 



454 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER LIV. 

The partners found Mr. M'Dougal in all the bustle of prepara- 
tion : having about nine days previously announced at the fac- 
tory, his intention of breaking up the establishment, and fixed 
upon the 1st of July for the time of departure. Messrs. Stuart 
and Clarke felt highly displeased at his taking so precipitate a 
step, "without waiting for their concurrence, when he must have 
known that their arrival could not be far distant. 

Indeed, the whole conduct of Mr. M'Dougal was such as to 
awaken strong doubts as to his loyal devotion to the cause. His 
old sympathies with the Northwest Company seemed to have 
revived. He had received M'Tavish and his party with uncalled- 
for hospitality, as though they were friends and allies, instead of 
being a party of observation, come to reconnoitre the state of 
affairs at Astoria, and to await the arrival of a hostile ship. Had 
they been left to themselves, they would have been starved off 
for want of provisions, or driven away by the Chinooks, who only 
wanted a signal from the factory to treat them as intruders and 
enemies. M'Dougal, on the contrary, had supplied them from 
the stores of the garrison, and had gained them the favor of the 
Indians, by treating them as friends. 

Having set his mind fixedly on the project of breaking up 
the establishment at Astoria, in the current year, M'Dougal was 
sorely disappointed at finding that Messrs. Stuart and Clarke 
had omitted to comply with his request to purchase horses and 
provisions for the caravan across the mountains. It was now too 
late to make the necessary preparations in time for traversing the 
mountains before winter, and the project had to be postponed. 



TRANSACTIONS AT ASTORIA. 455 



In the meantime, the non-arrival of the annual ship, and the 
apprehensions entertained of the loss of the Beaver and of Mr. 
Hunt, had their effect upon the minds of Messrs. Stuart and 
Clarke. They began to listen to the desponding representations 
of M'Dougal, seconded by M'Kenzie, who inveighed against their 
situation as desperate and forlorn ; left to shift for themselves, 
or perish upon a barbarous coast ; neglected by those who sent 
them there, and threatened with dangers of every kind. In this 
way they were brought to consent to the plan of abandoning the 
country in the ensuing year. 

About this time, M'Tavish applied at the factory to purchase 
a small supply of goods wherewith to trade his way back to his 
post on the upper waters of the Columbia, having waited in vain 
for the arrival of the Isaac Todd. His request brought on a 
consultation among the partners. M'Dougal urged that it should 
be complied with. He furthermore proposed, that they should 
give up to M'Tavish, for a proper consideration, the post on the 
Spokan, and all its dependencies, as they had not sufficient goods 
on hand to supply that post themselves, and to keep up a compe- 
tition with the Northwest Company in the trade with the neigh- 
boring Indians. This last representation has since been proved 
incorrect. By inventories, it appears that their stock in hand for 
the supply of the interior posts, was superior to that of the North- 
west Company ; so that they had nothing to fear from competition. 

Through the influence of Messrs. M'Dougal and M'Kenzie, 
this proposition was adopted, and was promptly accepted by 
M'Tavish. The merchandise sold to him, amounted to eight hun- 
dred and fifty-eight dollars, to be paid for, in the following 
spring, in horses, or in any other manner most acceptable to the 
partners at that period. 

This agreement being concluded, the partners formed their 
plans for the year that they would yet have to pass in the coun- 



456 ASTORIA. 

try. Their objects were, chiefly, present subsistence, and the 
purchase of horses for the contemplated journey, though they 
were likewise to collect as much peltries as their diminished 
means would command. Accordingly, it was arranged, that 
David Stuart should return to his former post on the Oakina 
gan, and Mr. Clarke should make his sojourn among the Flat 
heads. John Reed, the sturdy Hibernian, was to undertake the 
Snake River country, accompanied by Pierre Dorion and Pierre 
Delaunay, as hunters, and Francis Landry, Jean Baptiste Tur- 
cotte, Andre la Chapelle, and Gilles le Clerc, Canadian voyageurs. 

Astoria, however, was the post about which they felt the 
greatest solicitude, and on which they all more or less depended 
The maintenance of this in safety throughout the coming year, 
was, therefore, their grand consideration. Mr. M'Dougal was to 
continue in command of it, with a party of forty men. They 
would have to depend chiefly upon the neighboring savages for 
their subsistence. These, at present, were friendly, but it was to 
be feared that, when they should discover the exigencies of the 
post, and its real weakness, they might proceed to hostilities ; or. 
at any rate, might cease to furnish their usual supplies. It was 
important, therefore, to render the place as independent as possi- 
ble, of the surrounding tribes for its support ; and it was accord- 
ingly resolved that M'Kenzie, with four hunters, and eight com- 
mon men, should winter in the abundant country of Wollamut, 
from whence they might be enabled to furnish a constant supply 
of provisions to Astoria. 

As there was too great a proportion of clerks for the number 
of privates in the service, the engagements of three of them, 
Ross Cox, Ross, and M'Lennan, were surrendered to them, and 
they immediately enrolled themselves in the service of the North- 
west Company ; glad, no doubt, to escape from what they con> 
Bidered a sinking ship. 



MANIFESTO OF THE PARTNERS. 457 



Having made all these arrangements, the four partners, on 
the first of July, signed a formal manifesto, stating the alarming 
state of their affairs, from the non-arrival of the annual ship, and 
the absence and apprehended loss of the Beaver, their want of 
goods, their despair of receiving any further supply, their igno- 
rance of the coast, and their disappointment as to the interior 
trade, which they pronounced unequal to the expenses incurred, 
and incompetent to stand against the powerful opposition of the 
Northwest Company. And as by the 16th article of the com- 
pany's agreement, they were authorized to abandon this under- 
taking, and dissolve the concern, if before the period of five years 
it should be found unprofitable, they now formally announced 
their intention to do so on the 1st day of June, of the ensuing 
year, unless in the interim they should receive the necessary sup- 
port and supplies from Mr. Astor, or the stockholders, with 
orders to continue. 

This instrument, accompanied by private letters of similar 
import, was delivered to Mr. M'Tavish, who departed on the 
5th of July. He engaged to forward the dispatches to Mr. 
Astor, by the usual winter express sent overland by the North- 
west Company. 

The manifesto was signed with great reluctance by Messrs. 
Clarke and D. Stuart, whose experience by no means justified the 
discouraging account given in it of the internal trade, and who 
considered the main difficulties of exploring an unknown and 
savage country, and of ascertaining the best trading and trapping 
grounds, in a great measure overcome. They were overruled, 
however, by the urgent instances of M'Dougal and M'Kenzie, 
who, having resolved upon abandoning the enterprise, were de- 
sirous of making as strong a case as possible to excuse their 
conduct to Mr. Astor and to the world. 

20 



458 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER LY. 

While difficulties and disasters had been gathering about the 
infant settlement of Astoria, the mind of its projector at New 
York, was a prey to great anxiety. The ship Lark, dispatched 
by him with supplies for the establishment, sailed on the 6th of 
March, 1813. Within a fortnight afterwards, he received intelli- 
gence which justified all his apprehensions of hostility on the 
part of the British. The Northwest Company had made a 
second memorial to that government, representing Astoria as an 
American establishment, stating the vast scope of its contemplated 
operations, magnifying the strength of its fortifications, and ex- 
pressing their fears that, unless crushed in the bud, it would 
effect the downfall of their trade. 

Influenced by these representations, the British government 
ordered the frigate Phoebe to be detached as a convoy for the 
armed ship, Isaac Todd, which was ready to sail with men and 
munitions for forming a new establishment. They were to pro- 
ceed together to the mouth of the Columbia, capture or destroy 
whatever American fortress they should find there, and plant the 
British flag on its ruins. 

Informed of these movements, Mr. Astor lost no time in ad- 
dressing a second letter to the secretary of state, communicating 
this intelligence, and requesting it might be laid before the pres- 
ident; as no notice, however, had been taken of his previous 
letter, he contented himself with this simple communication, and 
made no further application for aid. 



FITTING OUT OF THE ADAMS. 459 



Awakened now to the danger that menaced the establishment 
at Astoria, and aware of the importance of protecting this foot- 
hold of American commerce and empire on the shores of the 
Pacific, the government determined to send the frigate Adams, 
Captain Crane, upon this service. On hearing of this determi- 
nation, Mr. Astor immediately proeeded to fit out a ship called 
the Enterprise, to sail in company with the Adams, freighted with 
additional supplies and reinforcements for Astoria. 

About the middle of June, while in the midst of these pre- 
parations, Mr. Astor received a letter from Mi\ R. Stuart, dated 
St. Louis, May 1st, confirming the intelligence already received 
through the public newspapers, of his safe return, and of the 
arrival of Mr. Hunt and his party at Astoria, and giving the most 
flattering accounts of the prosperity of the enterprise. 

So deep had been the anxiety of Mr. Astor, for the success ot 
this groat object of his ambition, that this gleam of good news 
was almost overpowering. " I felt ready," said he, " to fall upon 
my knees in a transport of gratitude." 

At the same time he heard that the Beaver had made good 
her voyage from New- York to the Columbia. This was additional 
ground of hope for the welfare of the little colony. The post 
being thus relieved and strengthened with an American at its 
head, and a ship of war about to sail for its protection, the pros- 
pect for the future seemed full of encouragement, and Mr. Astor 
proceeded with fresh vigor, to fit out his merchant ship. 

Unfortunately for Astoria, this bright gleam of sunshine was 
soon overclouded. Just as the Adams had received her comple- 
ment of men, and the two vessels were ready for sea, news came 
from Commodore Chauncey, commanding on Lake Ontario, that 
a reinforcement of seamen was wanted in that quarter. The de- 
mand was urgent, the crew of the Adams was immediately trans- 
ferred to that service, and the ship was laid up. 



4$0 ASTORIA. 

This was a most ill-timed and discouraging blow, but Mr 
Astor would not yet allow himself to pause in his undertaking. 
He determined to send the Enterprise to sea alone, and let her 
take the chance of making her unprotected way across the ocean. 
Just at this time, however, a British force made its appearance off 
the Hook ; and the port of New- York was eff'ectually blockaded. 
To send a ship to sea under these circumstances, would be to 
expose her to almost certain capture. The Enterprise, was, 
therefore, unloaded and dismantled, and Mr. Astor was obliged 
to comfort himself with the hope that the Lark might reach 
Astoria in safety, and that aided by her supplies, and by the good 
management of Mr. Hunt and his associates, the little colony 
might be able to maintain itself until the return of peace. 



\ 



AN ALLIANCE OF STATE. 461 



CHAPTER LVI. 

We have hitherto had so much to relate of a gloomy and disas- 
trous nature, that it is with a feeling of momentary relief we turn 
to something of a more pleasing complexion, and record the first, 
and indeed only nuptials in high life that took place in the 
infant settlement of Astoria. 

M'Dougal, who appears to have been a man of a thousand 
projects, and of great, though somewhat irregular ambition, sud- 
denly conceived the idea of seeking the hand of one of the native 
pi'incesses, a daughter of the one-eyed potentate Comcomly, who 
held sway over the fishing tribe of the Chinooks, and had long 
supplied the factory with smelts and sturgeons. 

Some accounts give rather a romantic origin to this afiair, 
tracing it to the stormy night when M'Dougal, in the course of 
an exploring expedition, was driven by stress of weather to seek 
shelter in the royal abode of Comcomly. Then and there he was 
first struck with the charms of this piscatory princess, as she 
exerted herself to entertain her father's guest. 

The "journal of Astoria," however, which was kept under his 
own eye, records this union as a high state alliance, and great 
stroke of policy. The factory had to depend, in a great measure, 
on the Chinooks for provisions. They were at present friendly, but 
it was to be feared they would prove otherwise, should they disco- 
ver the weakness and the exigencies of the post, and the intention 
to leave the country. This alliance, therefore, would infallibly 
rivet Comcomly to the interests of the Astorians, and with him 



4G9 ASTORIA. 

the powerful tribe of the Chinooks. Be this as it may, and it Is 
hard to fathom the real policy of governors and princes, M'Dou- 
gal dispatched two of the clerks as ambassadors extraordinary, 
to wait upon the one-eyed chieftain, and make overtures for the 
hand of his daughter. 

The Chinooks, though not a very refined nation, have notions 
of matrimonial arrangements that would not disgrace the most 
refined sticklers for settlements and pin money. The suitor 
repairs not to the bower of his mistress, but to her father's 
lodge, and throws down a present at his feet. His wishes are 
then disclosed by some discreet friend employed by him for the 
purpose. If the suitor and his present find favor in the eyes of 
the father, he breaks the matter to his daughter, and inquires 
into the state of her inclinations. Should her answer be favorable, 
the suit is accepted, and the lover has to make further presents 
to the father, of horses, canoes, and other valuables, according 
to the beauty and merits of the bride ; looking forward to a 
return in kind whenever they shall go to housekeeping. 

We have more than once had occasion to speak of the shrewd- 
ness of Comcomly ; but never was it exerted more adroitly than 
on this occasion. He was a great friend of M'Dougal, and 
pleased with the idea of having so distinguished a son-in-law ; 
but so favorable an opportunity of benefiting his own fortune 
was not likely to occur a second time, and he determined to 
make the most of it. Accordingly, the negotiation was protracted 
with true diplomatic skill. Conference after conference was held 
with the two ambassadors : Comcomly was extravagant in his 
terms ; rating the charms of his daughter at the highest price, 
and indeed she is represented as having one of the flattest and 
most aristoeratical heads in the tribe. At length the prelimina- 
ries were all happily adjusted. On the 20th of July, early in the 
afternoon, a sq^uadron of canoes crossed over from the village of 



BRINGING HOME THE BRIDE. 463 



the Chinooks, bearing the royal family of Comcomly, and all his 
court. 

That worthy sachem landed in princely state, arrayed in a 
bright blue blanket and red breech clout, with an extra quantity 
of paint and feathers, attended by a train of half-naked warriors 
and nobles. A horse was in waiting to receive the princess, 
who was mounted behind one of the clerks, and thus conveyed, 
coy but compliant, to the fortress. Here she was received with 
devout, though decent joy, by her expecting bridegroom. 

Her bridal adornments, it is true, at first caused some little 
dismay, having painted and anointed herself for the occasion 
according to the Chinook toilet ; by dint, however, of copious 
ablutions, she was freed from all adventitious tint and fragrance, 
and entered into the nuptial state, the cleanest princess that had 
ever been known, of the somewhat unctuous tribe of the Chinooks. 

From that time forward, Comcomly was a daily visitor at the 
fort, and was admitted into the most intimate councils of his son- 
in-law. He took an interest in every thing that was going 
forward, but was particularly frequent in his visits to the black- 
smith's shop ; tasking the labors of the artificer in iron for every 
kind of weapon and implement suited to the savage state, 
insomuch that the necessary business of the factory was often 
postponed to attend to his requisitions. 

The honey-moon had scarce passed away, and M'Dougal was 
seated with his bride in the fortress of Astoria, when, about noon 
of the 20th of August, Gassaeop, the son of Comcomly, hurried 
into his presence with great agitation, and announced a ship at 
the mouth of the river. The news produced a vast sensation. 
Was it a ship of peace or war ? Was it American or British? 
Was it the Beaver or the Isaac Todd 1 M'Dougal hurried to 
the water side, threw himself into a boat, and ordered the hands 
to pull with all speed for the mouth of the harbor. Those in the 



464 ' ASTORIA. 

fort remained watching tlie entrance of the river, anxious to 
know whether they were to prepare for greeting a friend or 
fighting an enemy. At length the ship was descried crossing 
the bar, and bending her course towards Astoria. Every gaze 
was fixed upon her in silent scrutiny, until the American flag 
was recognized. A general shout was the first expression of joy^ 
and next a salutation was thundered from the cannon of the fort. 

The vessel came to anchor on the opposite side of the river, 
and returned the salute. The boat of Mr. M'Dougal went on 
board, and was seen returning late in the afternoon. The Asto- 
rians watched her with straining eyes, to discover who were on 
board, but the sun went down, and the evening closed in, before 
she was suflBciently near. At length she reached the land, and 
Mr. Hunt stepped on shore. He was hailed as one risen from 
the dead, and his return was a signal for merriment almost equal 
to that which prevailed at the nuptials of M'Dougal. 

We must now explain the cause of this gentleman's long 
absence, which had given rise to such gloomy and dispiriting 
surmises. 



VOYAGE TO NEW ARCHANGEL. 465 



CHAPTER LVIL 

It will be recollected, that the destination of the Beaver, when 
she sailed from Astoria on the 4th of August in 1812, was to 
proceed northwardly along the coast to Sheetka, or New Arch- 
angel, there to dispose of that part of her cargo intended for 
the supply of the Russian establishment at that place, and then 
to return to Astoria, where it was expected she would arrive in 
October. 

New Archangel is situated in Norfolk Sound, lat. 57° 2' N., 
long. ISS'^' 50' W. It was the head-quarters of the different col- 
onies of the Russian Fur Company, and the common rendezvous 
of the American vessels trading along the coast. 

The Beaver met with nothing worthy of particular mention 
in her voyage, and arrived at New Archangel on the 19th of 
August. The place at that time was the residence of Count 
Baranhoff, the governor of the different colonies ; a rough, rugged, 
hospitable, hard-drinking old Russian ; somewhat of a soldier, 
somewhat of a trader • above all, a boon companion of the old 
roystering school, with a strong cross of the bear. 

Mr. Hunt found this hyperborean veteran ensconced in a fort 
which crested the whole of a high rocky promontory. It mounted 
one hundred guns, large and small, and was impregnable to In- 
dian attack, unaided by artillery. Here the old governor lorded 
it over sixty Russians, who formed the corps of the trading estab- 
lishment, besides an indefinite number of Indian hunters of the 
Kodiak tribe, who were continually coming and going, or loung- 

20* 



466 ASTORIA. 



xng and loitering about the fort like so many hounds round a 
sportsman's hunting quarters. Though a loose liver among his 
guests, the governor was a strict disciplinarian among his men ; 
keeping them in perfect subjection, and having seven on guard 
night and day. 

Beside those immediate serfs and dependents just mentioned, 
the old Russian potentate exerted a considerable sway over a 
numerous and irregular class of maritime traders, who looked to 
him for aid and munitions, and through whom he may be said to 
have, in some degree, extended his power along the whole north- 
west coast. These were American captains of vessels engaged 
in a particular department of trade. One of these captains 
would come, in a manner, empty-handed to New Archangel. 
Here his ship would be furnished with about fifty canoes and a 
hundred Kodiak hunters, and fitted out with provisions, and 
every thing necessary for hunting the sea-otter on the coast of 
California, where the Russians have another establishment. The 
ship would ply along the Californian coast from place to place, 
dropping parties of otter hunters in their canoes, furnishing them 
only with water, and leaving them to depend uj^on their own dex- 
terity for a maintenance. When a suflicient cargo was collected, 
she would gather up her canoes and hunters, and return with 
them to Archangel ; where the captain would render in the 
returns of his voyage, and receive one-half of the skins for 
his share. 

Over these coasting captains, as we have hinted, the veteran 
governor exerted some sort of sway, but it was of a peculiar and 
characteristic kind; it was the tyranny of the table. They were 
obliged to join him in his "prosuics" or carousals, and to drink 
"potations pottle deep." His carousals, too, were not of the 
most quiet kind, nor were his potations as mild as nectar. " Hq 
is continually." said Mr. Hunt, "giving entertainments by way 



TYRANNY OF THE TABLE. 467 



of parade, and if you do not drink raw rum, and boiling puneli as 
strong as sulphur, lie will insult you as soon as he gets drunk, 
which is very shortly after sitting down to tabic," 

As to any " temperance captain " who stood fast to his faith, 
and refused to give up his sobriety, he might go elsewhere for a 
market, for he stood no chance with the governor. Rarely, how- 
ever, did any cold-water caitiif of the kind darken the door of 
old Baranhoff; the coasting captains knew too well his humor 
and their own interests ; they joined in his revels, they drank, 
and sang, and whooped, and hiccuped, until they all got " half 
seas over," and then affairs went on swimmingly. 

An awful warning to all " flinchers " occurred shortly before 
Mr. Hunt's arrival. A young naval officer had recently been 
sent out by the emperor to take command of one of the com- 
pany's vessels. The governor, as usual, had him at his " pros- 
nies," and plied him with jfiery potations. The young man stood 
on the defensive until the old count's ire was completely kindled ; 
he carried his point, and made the greenhorn tipsy, willy nilly. 
In proportion as they grew fuddled they grew noisy, they quar- 
relled in their cups ; the youngster paid old Baranhoff in his 
own coin by rating him soundly ; in reward for which, when sober, 
he was taken the rounds of four pickets, and received seventy- 
nine lashes, taled out with Russian punctuality of punishment. 

Such was the old grizzled bear with whom Mr. Hunt had to 
do his business. Plow he managed to cope with his humor ; 
whether he pledged himself in raw rum and blazing punch, and 
" clinked the can " with him as they made their bargains, does not 
appear upon record ; we must infer, however, from his general 
observations on the absolute sway of this hard-drinking potentate, 
that he had to conform to the customs of his court, and that 
their business transactions presented a maudlin mixture of punch 
and peltry. 



468 ASTORIA. 



The greatest annoyance to Mr. Hunt, howevei', was the delay 
to which he was subjected, in disposing of the cargo of the ship, 
and getting the requisite returns. With all the governor's devo- 
tions to the bottle, he never obfuscated his faculties sufficiently 
to lose sight of his interest, and is represented by Mr. Hunt as 
keen, not to say crafty, at a bargain, as the most arrant water 
drinker. A long time was expended negotiating with him, and 
by the time the bargain was concluded, the month of October had 
arrived. To add to the delay he was to be paid for his cargo in 
seal skins. Now it so happened that there was none of this kind 
of peltry at the fort of old Baranhoff. It was necessary, there- 
fore, for Mr. Hunt to proceed to a seal-catching establishment, 
which the Russian company had at the island of St. Paul in the 
sea of Kamschatka. He accordingly set sail on the 4th of Octo- 
ber, after having spent forty-five days at New Archangel, boosing 
and bargaining with its roystering commander, and right glad 
was he to escape from the clutches of this " old man of the sea." 

The Beaver arrived at St. Paul's on the 31st of October; by 
which time, according to arrangement, he ought to have been back 
at Astoria. The island of St. Paul's is in latitude 57° N., longi- 
tude 170° or 171° W. Its shores, in certain places, and at cer- 
tain seasons, are covered with seals, while others are playing 
about in the water. Of these, the Russians take only the small 
ones, from seven to ten months old, and carefully select the 
males, giving the females their freedom, that the breed may 
not be diminished. The islanders, however, kill the large ones 
for provisions, and for skins wherewith to cover their canoes. 
They drive them from the shore over the rocks, until within a 
short distance of their habitations, where they kill them. By 
this means, they save themselves the trouble of carrying the skins, 
and have the flesh at hand. This is thrown in heaps, and when 
the season for skinning is over, they take out the entrails and 



FISHY FOOD AND FUEL. 469 



make one heap of the blubber. This, with drift-wood, serves for 
fuel, for the island is entirely destitute of trees. They make 
another heap of the flesh, which, with the eggs of sea-fowls, pre- 
served in oil, an occasional sea-lion, a few ducks in winter, and 
some wild roots, compose their food. 

Mr. Hunt found seven Russians at the island, and one 
hundred hunters, natives of Oonalaska, with their families. 
They lived in cabins that looked like canoes ; being, for the most 
part formed of the jaw-bone of a whale, put up as rafters, across 
which were laid pieces of drift-wood covered over with long 
grass, the skins of large sea animals, and earth ; so as to be 
quite comfortable, in despite of the rigors of the climate ; though 
we are told they had as ancient and fish-like an odor, " as hud 
the quarters of Jonah, when he lodged within the whale." 

In one of these odoriferous mansions, Mr. Hunt occasionally 
took vip his abode, that he might be at hand to hasten the loading 
of the ship. The operation, however, was somewhat slow, for it 
was necessary to overhaul and inspect every pack to prevent 
imposition, and the peltries had then to be conveyed in large 
boats, made of skins, to the ship, which was some little distance 
from the shore, standing ofi* and on. 

One night, while Mr. Hunt was on shore, with some others 
of the crew, there rose a terrible gale. When the day broke, the 
ship was not to be seen. He watched for her with anxious eyes 
until night, but in vain. Day after day of boisterous storms, 
and howling wintry weather, were passed in watchfulness and 
solicitude. Nothing was to be seen but a dark and angry sea, 
and a scowling northern sky ; and at night he retired within the 
jaws of the whale, and nestled disconsolately among seal skins. 

At length, on the 13th of November, the Beaver made her 
appearance ; much the worse for the stormy conflicts, she had 
sustained in those hyperborean seas. She had been obliged to 



470 ASTORIA. 

carry a press of sail in heavy gales, to be able to hold her ground^ 
and had consequently sustained great damage in her canvas and 
rigging. Mr. Hunt lost no time in hurrying the residue of the 
cargo on board of her ; then, bidding adieu to his seal-fishing 
friends, and his whalebone habitation, he put forth once more 
to sea. 

He was now for making the best of his way to Astoria, and 
fortunate would it have been for the interests of that place, and 
the interests of Mr. Astor, had he done so ; but, unluckily, a 
perplexing question rose in his mind. The sails and rigging of 
the Beaver had been much rent and shattered in the late storm ; 
would she be able to stand the hard gales to be expected in 
making Columbia River at this season ? Was it prudent, also, at 
this boisterous time of the year to risk the valuable cargo which 
she now had on board, by crossing and recrossing the dangerous 
bar of that river ? These doubts were probably suggested or 
enforced by Captain Sowle, who, it has already been seen, was an 
over-cautious, or rather, a timid seaman, and they may have had 
some weight with Mr. Hunt ; but there were other considerations, 
which more strongly swayed his mind. The lateness of the 
season, and the unforeseen delays the ship had encountered at 
New Archangel, and by being obliged to proceed to St. Paul's, 
had put her so much back in her calculated time, that there was 
a risk of her arriAdng so late at Canton, as to come to a bad 
market, both for the sale of her peltries, and the purchase of a 
return cargo. He considered it to the interest of the company, 
therefore, that he should proceed at once to the Sandwich 
Islands ; there wait the arrival of the annual vessel from New- 
York, take passage in her to Astoria, and suffer the Beaver to 
"ontinue on to Canton. 

On the other hand, he was urged to the other course by his 
engagements ; by the plan of the voyage marked out for the 



INJUDICIOUS DECISION. 471 



Bea\er, by Mr. Astor ; by his inclination, and the possibility that 
the establishment might need his presence, and by the recollec- 
tion that there must already be a large amount of peltries col- 
lected at Astoria, and waiting for the return of the Beaver, to 
convey them to market. 

These conflicting questions perplexed and agitated his mind 
and gave rise to much anxious reflection, for he was a conscien- 
tious man that seems ever to have aimed at a faithful discharge 
of his duties, and to have had the interests of his employers 
earnestly at heart. His decision in the present instance was in- 
judicious, and proved unfortunate. It was, to bear away for the 
Sandwich Islands. He persuaded himself that it was a matter 
of necessity, and that the distressed condition of the ship left 
him no other alternative ; but we rather suspect he was so per- 
suaded by the representations of the timid captain. They 
accordingly stood for the Sandwich Islands, arrived at Woahoo, 
where the ship underwent the necessary repairs, and again put 
to sea on the 1st of January, 1813; leaving Mr. Hunt on the 
island. 

We will follow the Beaver to Canton, as her fortunes, in some 
measure, exemplify the evil of commanders of ships acting con- 
trary to orders ; and as they form a part of the tissue of cross 
purposes that marred the great commercial enterprise we have 
undertaken to record. 

The Beaver arrived safe at Canton, where Captain Sowle 
found the letter of Mr. Astor, giving him information of the war, 
and directing him to convey the intelligence to Astoria. He 
wrote a reply, dictated either by timidity or obstinacy, in which 
he declined complying with the orders of Mr. Astor, but said 
he would wait for the return of peace, and then come home. The 
other T3roceedings of Captain Sowle were equally wrong-headed 
and unlucky. He was offered one hundred and fifty thousand 



472 ASTORIA. 

dollars for the fur he had taken on board at St. Paul's. The 
goods for which it had been procured, cost but twenty-five thou- 
sand dollars in New- York. Had he accepted this offer, and re- 
invested the amount in nankeens, which at that time, in conse- 
quence of the interruption to commerce by the war, were at 
two-thirds of their usual price, the whole would have brought 
three hundred thousand dollars in New-York. It is true, the 
war would have rendered it unsafe to attempt the homeward 
voyage, but he might have put the goods in store at Canton, 
until after the peace, and have sailed without risk of capture to 
Astoria ; bringing to the partners at that place tidings of the 
great profits realized on the outward cargo, and the still greater 
to be expected from the returns. The news of such a brilliant 
commencement to their undertaking would have counterbalanced 
the gloomy tidings of the war ; it would have infused new spirit 
into them all, and given them courage and constancy to persevere 
in the enterprise. Captain Sowle, however, refused the offer of 
one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and stood wavering and 
chaffering for higher terms. The furs began to fall in value ; 
this only increased his irresolution ; they sunk so much that he 
feared to sell at all ; he borrowed money on Mr. Astor's account 
at an interest of eighteen per cent., and laid up his ship to await 
the return of peace. 

In the meanwhile, Mr. Hunt soon saw reason to repent the 
resolution he had adopted in altering the destination of the ship. 
His stay at the Sandwich Islands was prolonged far beyond all 
expectation. He looked in vain for the annual ship in the spring. 
Month after month passed by, and still she did not make her ap- 
pearance. He, too, proved the danger of departing from orders. 
Had he returned from St. Paul's to Astoria, all the anxiety and 
despondency about his fate, and about the whole course of the 
undertaking, would have been obviated. The Beaver would have 



WANDERING VOYAGES OF MR. HUNT. 478 



received the furs collected at the factory, and taken them to Can- 
ton, and great gains, instead of great losses, would have been the 
result. The greatest blunder, however, was that committed by 
Captain Sowle. 

At length, about the 20th of June, the ship Albatross, Cap- 
tain Smith, arrived from China, and brought the first tidings of 
the war to the Sandwich Islands. Mr. Hunt was no longer in 
doubt and perplexity as to the reason of the non-appearance of 
the annual ship. His first thoughts were for the welfare of 
Astoria, and, concluding that the inhabitants would probably be 
in want of provisions, he chartered the Albatross for two thou- 
sand dollars, to land him, with some supplies, at the mouth of the 
Columbia, where he arrived, as we have seen, on the 20th of Au- 
gust, after a years' seafaring that might have furnished a chaptar 
in the wanderings of Sindbad. 



474 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER LYIIL 

Mr. Hunt was overwlielmed witli surprise when he learnt the 
resolution taken by the partners to abandon Astoria. He soon 
found, however, that matters had gone too far, and the minds of 
his colleagues had become too firmly bent upon the measure, to 
render any opposition of avail. He was beset, too, with the same 
disparaging accounts of the interior trade, and of the whole con- 
cerns and prospects of the company that had been rendered to 
Mr. Astor. His own experience had been full of perplexities 
and discouragements. He had a conscientious anxiety for the 
interests of Mr. Astor, and, not comprehending the extended 
views of that gentleman, and his habit of operating with great 
amounts, he had from the first been daunted by the enormous 
expenses required, and had become disheartened by the subse- 
quent losses sustained, which appeared to him to be ruinous iu 
their magnitude. By degrees, therefore, he was brought to acqui- 
esce in the step taken by his colleagues, as perhaps advisable in 
the exigencies of the case ; his only care was to wind up the busi- 
ness with as little further loss as possible to Mr. Astor. 

A large stock of valuable furs was collected at the factory, 
which it was necessary to get to a market. There were twenty- 
five Sandwich Islanders also in the employ of the company, whom 
they were bound by express agreement to restore to their native 
country. For these purposes a ship was necessary. 

The Albatross was bound to the Marquesas, and thence to 
the Sandwich Islands. It was resolved that Mr. Hunt should 
Bail in her in quest of a vessel, and should return, if possible, by 



FURTHER ARRANGEMENTS. 415' 



the 1st of January, bringing with him a supply of provisions. 
Should any thing occur, however, to prevent his return, an 
arrangement was to be proposed to Mr. M'Tavish, to transfer 
such of the men as were so disposed, from the service of the 
American Fur Company into that of the Northwest, the latter 
becoming responsible for the wages due them, on receiving an 
equivalent in goods from the storehouse of the factory. As a 
means of facilitating the dispatch of business, Mr. M'Dougal 
proposed, that in case Mr. Hunt should not return, the whole 
arrangement with Mr. M'Tavish should be left solely to him. 
This was assented to ; the contingency being considered possible, 
but not probable. 

It is proper to note, that, on the first announcement by Mr. 
M'Dougal of his intention to break up the establishment, three 
of the clerks, British subjects, had, with his consent, passed into 
the service of the Northwest Company, and departed with Mr. 
M'Tavish for his post in the interior. 

Having arranged all these matters during a sojourn of six 
days at Astoria, Mr. Hunt set sail in the Albatross on the 26th 
of August, and arrived without accident at the Marquesas. He 
had not been there long, when Porter arrived in the frigate 
Essex, bringing in a number of stout London whalers as prizes, 
having made a sweeping cruise in the Pacific. From Commodore 
Porter he received the alarming intelligence that the British 
frigate Phoebe, with a storeship, mounted with battering pieces, 
calculated to attack forts, had arrived at Rio Janeiro, where she 
had been joined by the sloops of war Cherub and Racoon, and 
that they had all sailed in company on the 6th of July for the 
Pacific, bound, as it was supposed, to Columbia River. 

Here, then, was the death-warrant of unfortunate Astoria ! 
The anxious mind of Mr. Hunt was in greater perplexity than 
ever. He had been eager to extricate the property of Mr. Astor 



476 ASTORIA. 

from a failing concern with as little loss as possible ; there was 
now danger that the whole would be swallowed up. How was it 
to be snatched from the gulf? It was impossible to charter a 
ship for the purpose, now that a British squadron was on its way 
to the river. He applied to purchase one of the whale ships 
brought in by Commodore Porter. The commodore demanded 
twenty-five thousand dollars for her. The price appeared exor- 
bitant, and no bargain could be made. Mr. Hunt then urged 
the commodore to fit out one of his prizes, and send her to 
Astoria, to bring off the property and part of the people, but he 
declined, " from want of authority." He assured Mr. Hunt, how- 
ever, that he would endeavor to fall in with the enemy, or, should 
he hear of their having certainly gone to the Columbia, he would 
either follow or anticipate them, should his circumstances war- 
rant such a step. 

In this tantalizing state of suspense, Mr. Hunt was detained 
at the Marquesas until November 23d, when he proceeded in the 
Albatross to the Sandwich Islands. He still cherished a faint 
hope that, notwithstanding the war, and all other discouraging 
circumstances, the annual ship might have been sent by Mr. 
Astor, and might have touched at the islands, and proceeded to 
the Columbia. He knew the pride and interest taken by that 
gentleman in his great enterprise, and that he would not be 
deterred by dangers and difficulties from prosecuting it ; much 
less would he leave the infant establishment without succor and 
support in the time of trouble. In this, we have seen, he did 
but justice to Mr. Astor ; and we must now turn to notice the 
cause of the non-arrival of the vessel which he had dispatched 
with reinforcements and supplies. Her voyage forms another 
chapter of accidents in this eventful story. 

The Lark sailed from New-York on the 6th of March, 18 13, 
and proceeded prosperously on her voyage, until within a few 



WRECK OF THE LARK. 477 



degrees of the Sandwich Islands. Here a gale sprang up that 
soon blew with tremendous violence. The lark was a stanch and 
Qoble ship, and for a time buflfeted bravely with the storm. Un- 
luckily, however, she " broached to," and was struck by a heavy 
sea, that hove her on her beam-ends. The helm, too, was knocked 
to leeward, all command of the vessel was lost, and another moun- 
tain wave completely overset her. Orders were given to cut 
away the masts. In the hurry and confusion, the boats also were 
unfortunately cut adrift. The wreck then righted, but was a 
mere hulk, full of water, with a heavy sea washing over it, and 
all the hatches off. On mustering the crew, one man was missing, 
who was discovered below in the forecastle, drowned. 

In cutting away the masts, it had been utterly impossible to 
observe the necessary precaution of commencing with the lee rig- 
ging, that being, from the position of the ship, completely under 
water. The masts and spars, therefore, being linked to the wreck 
by the shrouds and rigging, remained alongside for four days. 
During all this time the ship lay rolling in the trough of the sea, 
the heavy surges breaking over her, and the spars heaving and 
banging to and fro, bruising the half-drowned sailors that clung 
to the bowsprit and the stumps of the masts. The sufferings of 
these poor fellows were intolerable. They stood to their waista 
in water, in imminent peril of being washed off by every surge. 
In this position they dared not sleep, lest they should let go their 
hold and be swept away. The only dry place on the wreck was 
the bowsprit. Here they took turns to be tied on, for half an 
hour at a time, and in this way gained short snatches of sleep. 

On the 14th, the first mate died at his post, and was swept off 
by the surges. On the 17th, two seamen, faint and exhausted 
were washed overboard. The next wave threw their bodies back 
upon the deck, where they remained, swashing backward an i for- 
ward, ghastly objects to the almost perishing survivors. Mr. 



478 ASTORIA. 

Ogden, the supercargo, wlio was at the bowsprit, called to the 
men nearest to the bodies, to fasten them to the wreck ; as a last 
horrible resource in case of being driven to extremity by famine ! 

On the 17th the gale gradually subsided, and the sea became 
calm. The sailors now crawled feebly about the wreck, and be- 
gan to relieve it from the main incumbrances. The spars were 
cleared away, the anchors and guns heaved overboard ; the sprit- 
sail yard was rigged for a jurymast, and a mizzen topsail set upon 
it. A sort of stage was made of a few broken spars, on which 
the crew were raised above the surface of the water, so as to be 
enabled to keep themselves dry, and to sleep comfortably. Still 
their suiferings from hunger and thirst were great ; but there 
was a Sandwich Islander on board, an expert swimmer, who found 
his way into the cabin, and occasionally brought up a few bottles 
of wine and porter, and at length got into the run, and secured 
a quarter cask of wine. A little raw pork was likewise procured, 
and dealt out with a sparing hand. The horrors of their situa- 
tion were increased by the sight of numerous sharks prowling 
about the wreck, as if waiting for their prey. On the 24th, the 
cook, a black man, died, and was cast into the sea, when he was 
instantly seized on by these ravenous monsters. 

They had been several days making slow headway under 
their scanty sail, when, on the 25th, they came in sight of land. 
It was about fifteen leagues distant, and they remained two or 
three days drifting along in sight of it. On the 28th, they 
descried, to their great transport, a canoe approaching, managed 
by natives. They came alongside, and brought a most welcome 
supply of potatoes. They informed them that the land they had 
made was one of the Sandwich Islands. The second mate and 
one of the seamen went on shore in the canoe for water and pro- 
visions, and to procure aid from the islanders, in towing the 
Wreck into a harbor. 



SUFFERINGS OF THE CREW. 479 



Neitlier of tlie men returned, nor was any assistance sent 
from sliore. The next day, ten or twelve canoes came alongside, 
but roamed round the wreck like so many sharks, and would 
render no aid in towing her to land. 

The sea continued to break over the vessel with such violence, 
that it was impossible to stand at the helm without the assistance 
of lashings. The crew were now so worn down by famine and 
thirst, that the captain saw it would be impossible for them to 
withstand the breaking of the sea, when the ship should ground ; 
he deemed the only chance for their lives, therefore, was to get 
to land in the canoes, and stand ready to receive and protect the 
wreck when she should drift to shore. Accordingly, they all got 
safe to land, but had scarcely touched the beach when they were 
surrounded by the natives, who stripped them almost naked. 
The name of this inhospitable island was Tahoorowa. 

In the course of the night, the wreck came drifting to the 
strand, with the surf thundering around her, and shortly after- 
wards bilged. On the following morning, numerous casks of 
provisions floated on shore. The natives staved them for the 
sake of the iron hoops, but would not allow the crew to help 
themselves to the contents, or to go on board of the wreck. 

As the crew were in want of every thing, and as it might be 
a long time before any opportunity occurred for them to get 
away from these islands, Mr. Ogden, as soon as he could get a 
chance, made his way to the island of Owyhee, and endeavored 
to make some arrangement with the king for the relief of his 
companions in misfortune. 

The illustrious Tamaahmaah, as we have shown on a former 
occasion, was a shrewd bargainer, and in the present instance 
proved himself an experienced wrecker. His negotiations with 
M'Dougal, and the other " Eris of the great American Fur 
Company," had but little effect on present circumstances, and he 



480 ASTORIA. 

proceeded to avail himself of their misfortunes. He agreed to 
furnish the crew with provisions during their stay in his territo- 
ries, and to return to them all their clothing that could be found, 
but he stipulated that the wreck should be abandoned to him as 
a waif cast by fortune on his shores. With these conditions Mr. 
Ogden was fain to comply. Upon this the great Tamaahmaah 
deputed his favorite, John Young, the tarpawlin governor of 
Owyhee, to proceed with a number of the royal guards, and take 
possession of the wreck on behalf of the crown. This was done 
accordingly, and the property and crew were removed to Owyhee. 
The royal bounty appears to have been but scanty in its dispen- 
sations. The crew fared but meagerly ; though, on reading the 
journal of the voyage, it is singular to find them, after all the 
hardships they had suffered, so sensitive about petty inconve- 
niences, as to exclaim against the king as a " savage monster," 
for refusing them a " pot to cook in," and denying Mr. Ogden the 
use of a knife and fork which had been saved from the wreck. 

Such was the unfortunate catastrophe of the Lark ; had she 
reached her destination in safety, affairs at Astoria might have 
taken a different course. A strange fatality seems to have at 
tended all the expeditions by sea, nor were those by land much 
less disastrous. 

Captain Northrop was still at the Sandwich Islands, on De- 
cember 20th, when Mr. Hunt arrived. The latter immediately 
purchased, for ten thousand dollars, a brig called the Pedler, and 
put Captain Northrop in command of her. They set sail for 
Astoria on the 22d January, intending to remove the property from 
thence as speedily as possible to the Russian settlements on the 
northwest coast, to prevent it from falling into the hands of the 
British. Such were the orders of Mr. Astor, sent out by the Lark. 

We will now leave Mr. Hunt on his voyage, and return to see 
what has taken place at Astoria during his absence. 



SQUADRON OF NORTHWESTERS. 481 



CHAPTER LIX. 

On the 2d of October, about five weeks after Mr. Hunt had sailed 
in the Albatross from Astoria, Mr. M'Kenzie set off with two 
canoes, and twelve men, for the posts of Messrs. Stuart and Clarke, 
to apprize them of the new arrangements determined upon in 
the recent conference of the partners at the factory. 

He had not ascended the river a hundred miles, when he met 
a squadron of ten canoes, sweeping merrily down under British 
colors, the Canadian oarsmen, as usual, in full song. 

It was an armament fitted out by M'Tavish, who had with 
him Mr. J. Stuart, another partner of the Northwest Company, 
together with some clerks, and sixty-eight men — seventy-five souls 
in all. They had heard of the frigate Phoebe and the Isaac Todd 
being on the high seas, and were on their way down to await their 
arrival. In one of the canoes Mr. Clarke came passenger, the 
alarming intelligence having brought him down from his post on 
the Spokan. Mr. M'Kenzie immediately determined to return 
with him to Astoria, and, veering about, the two parties encamped 
together for the night. The leaders, of course, observed a due 
decorum : but some of the subalterns could not restrain their 
chuckling exultation, boasting that they would soon plant the 
British standard on the walls of Astoria, and drive the Ameri- 
cans out of the country. 

In the course of the evening, Mr. M'Kenzie had a secret con- 
ference with Mr. Clarke, in which they agreed to set off privately, 
before daylight, and get down in time to apprize M'Dougal of the 
approach of these Northwesters. The latter, however, were eom- 

21 



482 ASTORIA. 

pletely on the alert ; just as M'Kenzie's catioes were about to push 
off, they were joined by a couple from the northwest squadron, 
in which was M'Tavish, with two clerks, and eleven men. With 
these, he intended to push forward and make arrangements, 
leaving the rest of the convoy, in which was a large quantity of 
furs, to await his orders. 

The two parties arrived at Astoria on the 7th of October. 
The Northwesters encamped under the guns of the fort, and dis- 
played the British colors. The young men in the fort, natives of 
the United States, were on the point of hoisting the American 
flag, but were forbidden by Mr. M'Dougal. They were astonished 
at such a prohibition, and were exceedingly galled by the tone and 
manner assumed by the clerks and retainers of the Northwest 
Company, who ruffled about in that swelling and braggart stylo 
which grows up among these heroes of the wilderness ; they, in 
fact, considered themselves lords of the ascendant, and regarded 
the hampered and harassed Astorians as a conquered people. 

On the following day M'Dougal convened the clerks, and read 
to them an extract of a letter from his uncle, Mr. Angus Shaw, 
one of the principal partners of the Northwest Company, an- 
nouncing the coming of the Phoebe and Isaac Todd, " to take 
and destroy every thing American on the northwest coast." 

This intelligence was received without dismay by such of the 
clerks as were natives of the United States. They had felt in- 
dignant at seeing their national flag struck by a Canadian com- 
mander, and the British flag flowed, as it were, in their faces. 
They had been stung to the quick, also, by the vaunting airs aS' 
Bumed by the Northwesters. In this mood of mind, they would 
willingly have nailed their colors to the staff, and defied the frigate 
She could not come within many miles of the fort, they observed, 
and any boats she might send could be destroyed by their cannon. 

There were cooler and more calculating spirits, however, who 



BARGAIN WITH THE NORTHWESTERS. 483 



had the control of affairs, and felt nothing of the patriotic pride 
and indignation of these youths. The extract of the letter had, 
apparently, been read by M'Dougal, merely to prepare the way 
for a preconcerted stroke of management. On the same day 
Mr. M'Tavish proposed to purchase the whole stock of goods and 
furs belonging to the company, both at Astoria and in the inte- 
rior, at cost and charges. Mr. M'Dougal undertook to comply ; 
assuming the whole management of the negotiation in virtue of 
the power vested in him, in case of the non-arrival of Mr. Hunt. 
That power, however, was limited and specific, and did not extend 
to an operation of this nature and extent ; no objection, however, 
was made to his assumption, and he and M'Tavish soon made a 
preliminary arrangement, perfectly satisfactory to the latter. 

Mr. Stuart, and the reserve party of Northwesters, arrived 
shortly afterwards, and encamped with M'Tavish. The former 
exclaimed loudly against the terms of the arrangement, and in- 
sisted upon a reduction of the prices. New negotiations had 
now to be entered into. The demands of the Northwesters were 
made in a peremptory tone, and they seemed disposed to dictate 
like conquerors. The Americans looked on with indignation and 
impatience. They considered M'Dougal as acting, if not a perfi- 
dious, certainly a craven part. He was continually repairing to 
the camp to negotiate, instead of keeping within his walls and 
receiving overtures in his fortress. His case, they observed, was 
not so desperate as to excuse such crouching. He might, in fact, 
hold out for his own terms. The northwest party had lost their 
ammunition ; they had no goods to trade with the natives for 
provisions ; and they were so destitute that M'Dougal had abso- 
lutely to feed them, while he negotiated with them. He, on the 
contrary, was well lodged and victualled ; had sixty men, with 
arms, amm-unition, boats, and every thing requisite either for de- 
fence or retreat. The party, beneath the guns of his fort, were 



484 ASTORIA. 



at his mercy ; should an enemy appear in the offing, he could 
pack up the most valuable part of the property and retire to some 
place of concealment, or make off for the interior. 

These considerations, however, had no weight with Mr. 
M'Dougal, or were overruled by other motives. The terms of 
sale were lowered by him to the standard fixed by Mr. Stuart, 
and an agreement executed on the 16th of October, by which 
the furs and merchandise of all kinds in the country, belonging 
to Mr. Astor, passed into the possession of the Northwest 
Company at about a third of their real value.* A safe passage 
through the northwest posts was guaranteed to such as did not 
choose to enter into the service of that company, and the amount 
of wages due to them was to be deducted from the price paid for 
Astoria. 

* Not quite $40,000 were allowed for furs worth upwards of $100,000. 
Beaver was valued at two dollars per skin, though worth five dollars. Land 
otter at fifty cents, though worth five dollars. Sea otter at twelve dollars, 
worth from forty-five to sixty dollars ; and for several kinds of furs nothing waa 
allowed. Moreover, the goods and merchandise for the Indian trade ought 
to have brought three times the amount for which they were sold. 

The following estimate has been made of the articles on hand, and the prices 
17,705 lbs. beaver parchment, valued at $2,00 worth $5,00 
465 old coat beaver, . . « « 1,66 " 3,50 

907 land otter, . . " " ,50 " 5,00 



68 sea otter. 


. 


< 


" 12,00 


« 45 to 60,00 


30 " « 


. 


( 


' " 5,00 


25,00 


Nothing was allowed for 










179 mink skins. 


worth each 


. 


. . ,40 


22 racoon. 


(( 


« 


. 


,40 


28 lynx, 


« 


u 


. 


200 


18 fox. 


« 


« 


. 


1,00 


106 « 


" 


« 


. 


1,50 


71 black bear. 


" 


tt 


. 


4,00 


16 grizzly bear. 




« 


. 


. 10,00 



OPINION OF MR. ASTOR. 485 



The conduct and motives of Mr. M'Dougal, throughout the 
whole of this proceedingj have been strongly questioned by the 
other partners. He has been accused of availing himself of a 
wrong construction of powers vested in him at his own request, 
and of sacrificing the interests of Mr. Astor to the Northwest 
Company, under the promise or hope of advantage to himself 

He always insisted, however, that he made the best bargain 
for Mr. Astor that circumstances would permit ; the frigate 
being hourly expected, in which case the whole property of that 
gentleman would be liable to capture. That the return of Mr. 
Hunt was problematical ; the frigate intending to cruise along 
the coast for two years, and clear it of all American vessels. He 
moreover averred, and M'Tavish corroborated his averment by 
certificate, that he proposed an arrangement to that gentleman, 
by which the furs were to be sent to Canton, and sold there 
at Mr. Aster's risk, and for his account ; but the proposition 
was not acceded to. 

Notwithstanding all his representations, several of the per- 
sons present at the transaction, and acquainted with the whole 
course of the affair, and among the nuniber Mr. M'Kenzie him- 
self, his occasional coadjutor, remained firm in the belief that he 
had acted a hollow part. Neither did he succeed in exculpating 
himself to Mr. Astor ; that gentleman declaring, in a letter writ- 
ten some time afterwards, to Mr. Hunt, that he considered the 
property virtually given away. " Had our place and our prop- 
erty," he adds, " been fairly captured, I should have preferred it. 
T should not feel as if I were disgraced." 

All these may be unmerited suspicions ; but it certainly is a 
circumstance strongly corroborative of them, that Mr. M'Dougal, 
shortly after concluding this agreement, became a member of the 
Northwest Company, and received a share productive of a hand- 
Bome income. 



486 ASTORIA. 



CHAPTER LX. 

On the morning of the 30th of November, a sail was descried 
doubling Cape Disappointment. It came to anchor in Baker's 
Bay, and proved to be a ship of war. Of what nation ? was now 
the anxious inquiry. If English, why did it come alone ? where 
was the merchant vessel that was to have accompanied it ? If 
American, what was to become of the newly acquired possession 
of the Northwest Company. 

In this dilemma, M'Tavish, in all haste, loaded two barges 
with all the packages of furs bearing the mark of the Northwest 
Company, and made oif for Tongue Point, three miles up the 
river. There he was to await a preconcerted signal from M'Dougal, 
on ascertaining the character of the ship. If it should prove 
American, M'Tavish would have a fair start, and could bear off 
his rich cargo to the interior. It is singular that this prompt 
mode of conveying A^aluable, but easily transportable effects be- 
yond the reach of a hostile ship should not have suggested itself 
while the property belonged to Mr. Astor. 

In the meantime, M'Dougal, who still remained nominal chief 
at the fort, launched a canoe, manned by men recently in the 
employ of the American Fur Company, and steered for the ship. 
On the u'ay, he instructed his men to pass themselves for Amer- 
icans or Englishmen, according to the exigencies of the case. 

The vessel proved to be the British sloop-of-war Racoon, 
of twenty-six guns, and one hundred and twenty men, com- 
manded by Captain Black. According to the account of that 



THE RACOON SLOOP OF WAR. 487 



officer, the frigate Phoebe, and the two sloops-of-war Cheiyib 
and Racoon, had sailed in convoy of the Isaac Todd from Rio 
Janeiro. On board of the Phoebe, Mr. John M'Donald, a 
partner of the Northwest Company, embarked as passenger, to 
profit by the anticipated catastrophe at Astoria. The convoy 
was separated by stress of weather off Cape Horn. The three 
ships of war came together again at the island of Juan Fernan- 
dez, their appointed rendezvous, but waited 'n vain for the Isaac 
Todd. 

In the meantime, intelligence was received of the mischief 
that Commodore Porter was doing among the British whale ships. 
Commodore Hillyer immediately set sail in quest of him, with 
the Phcebe and the Cherub, transferring Mr. M'Donald to the 
Racoon, and ordering that vessel to proceed to the Columbia. 

The officers of the Racoon were in high spirits. The agents 
of the Northwest Company, in instigating the expedition, had 
talked of immense booty to be made by the fortunate captors of 
Astoria. Mr. M'Donald had kept up the excitement during the 
voyage, so that not a midshipman but revelled in dreams of 
ample prize-money, nor a lieutenant that would have sold his 
chance for a thousand pounds. Their disappointment, therefore, 
may easily be conceived, when they learned that their warlike 
attack upon Astoria had been forestalled by a sung commercial 
arrangement ; that their anticipated booty had become British. 
property in the regular course of traffic, and that all this had 
been effected by the very company which had been instrumental 
in getting them sent on what they now stigmatized as a fool's 
errand. They felt as if they had been duped and made tools o^ 
by a set of shrewd men of traffic, who had employed them to 
crack the nut, while they carried off the kernel. In a word, 
M'Dougal found himself so ungraciously received by his country 
men on board of the ship, that he was glad to cut short his visit. 



488 ASTORIA. 

and return to shore. He was busy at the fort, making preparor 
tions for the reception of the captain of the Racoon, when his 
one-eyed Indian father-in-law made his appearance, with a train 
of Chinook warriors, all painted and equipped in warlike style. 

Old Comcomly had beheld, with dismay, the arrival of a "big 
war canoe" displaying the British flag. The shrewd old savage 
had become something of a politician in the course of his daily 
visits at the fort. He knew of the war existing between the 
nations, but knew nothing of the arrangement between M'Dougal 
and M'Tavish. He trembled, therefore, for the power of his 
white son-in-law, and the new-fledged grandeur of his daughter, 
and assembled his warriors in all haste. " King George," said 
he, " has sent his great canoe to destroy the fort, and make slaves 
of all the inhabitants. Shall we sufi"er it ? The Americans are 
the first white men that have fixed themselves in the land. They 
have treated us like brothers. Their great chief has taken my 
daughter to be his squaw : we are, therefore, as one people." 

His warriors all determined to stand by the Americans to the 
last, and to this effect they came painted and armed for battle. 
Comcomly made a spirited war speech to his son-in-law. He 
offered to kill every one of King George's men that should 
attempt to land. It was an easy matter. The ship could not 
approach within six miles of the fort ; the crew could only land 
in boats. The woods reached to the water's edge ; in these, he 
and his warriors would conceal themselves, and shoot down the 
enemy as fast as they put foot on shore. 

M'Dougal was, doubtless, properly sensible of this parental 
devotion on the part of his savage father-in-law, and perhaps a 
little rebuked by the game spirit, so opposite to his own. He 
assured Comcomly, however, that his solicitude for the safety of 
himself and the princess was superfluous ; as, though the ship 
belonged to King George, her crew would not injure the Ameri 



LANDING OF CAPTAIN BLACK. 489 



cans, or their Indian allies. He advised him and his warriors, 
therefore, to lay aside their weapons and war shirts, wash oif the 
paint from their faces and bodies, and appear like clean and civil 
savages, to receive the strangers courteously. 

Comcomly was sorely puzzled at this advice, which accorded 
so little with his Indian notions of receiving a hostile nation ; 
and it was only after repeated and positive assurances of the 
amicable intentions of the strangers that he was induced to lower 
his fighting tone. He said something to his warriors explanatory 
of this singular posture of affairs, and in vindication, perhaps, of 
the pacific temper of his son-in-law. They all gave a shrug and 
an Indian grunt of acquiescence, and went off sulkily to their 
village, to lay aside their weapons for the present. 

The proper arrangements being made for the reception of 
Captain Black, that officer caused his ship's boats to be manned, 
and landed with befitting state at Astoria. From the talk that 
had been made by the Northwest Company of the strength of 
the place, and the armament they had required to assist in its 
reduction, he expected to find a fortress of some importance. 
When he beheld nothing but stockades and bastions, calculated 
for defence against naked savages, he felt an emotion of indig- 
nant surprise, mingled with something of the ludicrous. " Is 
this the fort," cried he, " about which I have heard so much talk- 
ing ? D — n me, but I'd batter it down in two hours with a four 
pounder !" 

When he learned, however, the amount of rich furs that had 
been passed into the hands of the Northwesters, he was outra- 
geous, and insisted that an inventory should be taken of all the 
property purchased of the Americans, " with a view to ulterior 
measures in England, for the recovery of the value from the 
Northwest Company." 

As he grew cool, however, he gave over all idea of preferring 



490 ASTORIA. 

such a claim, and reconciled himself, as well as lie could, to the 
idea of having been forestalled by his bargaining coadjutors. 

On the 12th of December, the fate of Astoria was consum- 
mated by a regular ceremonial. Captain Black, attended by his 
officers, entered the fort, caused the British standard to be erected, 
broke a bottle of wine, and declared, in a loud voice, that he took 
possession of the establishment and of the country, in the name 
of his Britannic Majesty, changing the name of Astoria to that of 
Fort George. 

The Indian warriors, who had offered their services to repel 
the strangers, were present on this occasion. It was explained 
to them as being a friendly arrangement and transfer, but they 
shook their heads grimly, and considered it an act of subjugation 
of their ancient allies. They regretted that they had complied 
with M'Dougal's wishes, in laying aside their arms, and remarked, 
that, however the Americans might conceal the fact, they were 
undoubtedly all slaves ; nor could they be persuaded of the con- 
trary, until they beheld the Racoon depart without taking away 
any prisoners. 

As to Comcomly, he no longer prided himself upon his white 
Bon-in-law, but, whenever he was asked about him, shook his head, 
and replied, that his daughter had made a mistake, and, instead 
of getting a great warrior for a husband, had married herself to 
a squaw. 



ARRIVAL OF MR. HUNT IN THE PEDLER. 491 



CHAPTER LXI. 

Having given the catastrophe at the Fort of Astoria, it remains 
now but to gather up a few loose ends of this widely excursive 
narrative and conclude. On the 28th of February the brig 
Pedler anchored in Columbia River. It will be recollected that 
Mr. Hunt had purchased this vessel at the Sandwich Islands, to 
take off the furs collected at the factory, and to restore the 
Sandwich Islanders to their homes. When that gentleman learned, 
however, the precipitate and summary manner in which the prop- 
erty had been bargained away by M'Dougal, he expressed his in- 
dignation in the strongest terms, and determined to make an 
effort to get back the furs. As soon as his wishes were known iu 
this respect, M'Dougal came to sound him on behalf of the North- 
west Company, intimating that he had no doubt the peltries might 
be repurchased at an advance of fifty per cent. This overture 
was not calculated to soothe the angry feelings of Mr. Hunt, and 
his indignation was complete, when he discovered that M'Dougal 
had become a partner of the Northwest Company, and had actu- 
ally been so since the 23d of December. He had kept his part- 
nership a secret, however ; had retained the papers of the Pacific 
Fur Company in his possession ; and had continued to act as Mr. 
Astor's agent, though two of the partners of the other company, 
Mr. M'Kenzie and Mr. Clarke, were present. He had, moreover, 
divulged to his new associates all that he knew as to Mr. Astor's 
plans and affairs, and had made copies of his business letters for 
their perusal. 



492 ASTORIA. 

Mr. Hunt now considered the whole conduct of M'Dougal 
hollow and collusive. His only thought was, therefore, to get all 
the papers of the concern out of his hands, and bring the bus! 
ness to a close ; for the interests of Mr. Astor were yet completely 
at stake ; the drafts of the Northwest Company in his favor, for 
the purchase money, not having yet been obtained. With some 
difficulty he succeeded in getting possession of the papers. The 
bills or drafts were delivered without hesitation. The latter he 
remitted to Mr. Astor by some of his associates, who were about 
to cross the continent to New-York. This done, he embarked on 
board the Pedler, on the 3d of April, accompanied by two of the 
clerks, Mr. Seton and Mr. Halsey, and bade a final adieu to Astoria. 

The next day, April 4th, Messrs. Clarke, M'Kenzie, David 
Stuart, and such of the Astorians as had not entered into the 
service of the Northwest Company, set out to cross the Rocky 
Mountains. It is not our intention to take the reader another 
journey across those rugged barriers ; but we will step forward 
with the travellers to a distance on their way, merely to relate 
their interview with a character already noted in this work 

As the party were proceeding up the Columbia, near the 
mouth of the Wallah-Wallah River, several Indian canoes put 
ofi" from the shore to overtake them, and a voice called upon them 
in French, and requested them to stop. They accordingly put to 
shore, and were joined by those in the canoes. To their surprise, 
they recognized in the person who had hailed them the Indian 
wife of Pierre Dorion, accompanied by her tvro children. She 
had a story to tell, involving the fate of several of our unfortu- 
nate adventurers. 

Mr. John Reed, the Hibernian, it will be remembered, had been 
detached during the summer to the Snake River. His party 
consisted of four Canadians, Giles Le Clerc, Francois Landry, 
Jean Baptiste Turcot, and Andre La Chapelle, together with twQ 



PIERRE DORION'S WIFE. 493 



hunters, Pierre Dorion and Pierre Delaunay ; Dorion, as usual, 
being accompanied by his wife and children. The objects of this 
expedition were twofold ; to trap beaver, and to search for the 
three hunters, Robinson, Hoback, and Rezner. 

In the course of the autumn. Reed lost one man, Landry, by 
death ; another one, Pierre Delaunay, who was of a sullen, per- 
verse disposition, left him in a moody fit, and was never heard of 
afterwards. The number of his party was not, however, reduced 
by these losses, as the three hunters, Robinson, Hoback, and 
Rezner, had joined it. 

Reed now built a house on the Snake River, for their winter 
quarters ; which being completed, the party set about trapping. 
Rezner, Le Clerc, and Pierre Dorion, went about five days' jour- 
ney from the wintering house, to a part of the country well 
stocked with beaver. Here they put up a hut, and proceeded to 
trap with great success. While the men were out hunting, Pierre 
Dorion's wife remained at home to dress the skins and prepare 
the meals. She was thus employed one evening about the begin- 
ning of January, cooking the supper of the hunters, when she 
heard footsteps, and Le Clerc staggered, pale and bleeding, into 
the hut. He informed her that a party of savages had surprised 
them, while at their traps, and had killed Rezner and her husband. 
He had barely strength left to give this information, when he 
sank upon the ground. 

The poor woman saw that the only chance for life was instant 
flight, but, in this exigency, showed that presence of mind and 
force of character for which she had frequently been noted. With 
great difficulty, she caught two of the horses belonging to the 
party. Then collecting her clothes, and a small quantity of 
beaver meat and dried salmon, she packed them upon one of the 
horses, and helped the wounded man to mount upon it. On the 
other horse she mounted with her two children, and hurried 



494 ASTORIA. 

away from this dangerous neighborhood, directing her flight to 
Mr. Reed's establishment. On the third day, she descried a 
number of Indians on horseback proceeding in an easterly direc- 
tion. She immediately dismounted with her children, and helped 
Le Clerc likewise to dismount, and all concealed themselves. 
Fortunately they escaped the sharp eyes of the savages, but had 
to proceed with the utmost caution. That night they slept with 
out fire or water ; she managed to keep her children warm in her 
arms ; but before morning, poor Le Clerc died. 

With the dawn of day the resolute woman resumed her 
course, and, on the fourth day, reached the house of Mr. Reed. 
It was deserted, and all round were marks of blood and signs of 
a furious massacre. Not doubting that Mr. Reed and his party 
had all fallen victims, she turned in fresh horror from the spot. 
For two days she continued hurrying forward, ready to sink for 
want of food, but more solicitous about her children than herself. 
At length she reached a range of the Rocky Mountains, near the 
upper part of the Wallah-Wallah River. Here she chose a wild 
lonely ravine, as her place of winter refuge. 

She had fortunately a buffalo robe and three deer skins ; of 
these, and of pine bark and cedar branches, she constructed a 
rude wigwam, which she pitched beside a mountain spring. Hav- 
ing no other food, she killed the two horses, and smoked their 
flesh. The skins aided to cover her hut. Here she dragged 
out the winter, with no other company than her two children. 
Towards the middle of March, her provisions were nearly ex- 
hausted. She therefore packed up the remainder, slung it on 
her back, and, with her helpless little ones, set out again on her 
wanderings. Crossing the ridge of mountains, she descended to 
the banks of the Wallah- Wallah, and kept along them until she 
arrived where that river throws itself into the Columbia. She was 
hospitably received and entertained by the Wallah-Wallahs, and 



REVENGE OF THE NEZ PERCf:S 495 



had been nearly two weeks among tliem when the two canoes 
passed. 

On being interrogated, she could assign no reason for this 
murderous attack of the savages ; it appeared to be perfectly 
wanton and unprovoked. Some of the Astorians supposed it an 
act of butchery by a roving band of Blackfeet ; others, however 
and with greater probability of correctness, have ascribed it to 
the tribe of Pierced-nosed Indians, in revenge for the death of 
their comrade hanged by order of Mr. Clarke. If so, it shows 
that these sudden and apparently wanton outbreakings of san- 
guinary violence on the part of the savages, have often some 
previous, though perhaps remote, provocation. 

The narrative of the Indian woman closes the checkered 
adventures of some of the personages of this motley story ; such 
as the honest Hibernian Reed, and Dorion the hybrid inter- 
preter. Turcot and La Chapelle were two of the men who fell off 
from Mr. Crooks in the course of his wintry jouraey, and had 
subsequently such disastrous times among the Indians. We 
cannot but feel some sympathy with that persevering trio of 
Kentuckiaus, Robinson, Rezner, and Hoback ; who twice turned 
back when on their way homeward, and lingered in the wilder- 
ness to perish by the hands of savages. 

The return parties from Astoria, both by sea and land, ex- 
perienced on the way as many adventures, vicissitudes, and mis- 
haps, as the far-famed heroes of the Odyssey ; they reached their 
destination at different times, bearing tidings to Mr. Astor of the 
unfortunate termination of his enterprise. . 

That gentleman, however, was not disposed, even yet, to give 
the matter up as lost. On the contrary, his spirit was roused by 
what he considered ungenerous and unmerited conduct on the 
part of the Northwest Company. " After their treatment of 
me," said he, in a letter to Mr. Hunt, " I have no idea of remain- 



496 ASTORIA. 

ing quiet and idle.' He determined, therefore, as soon as circum- 
stances would j^ermit, to resume his enterprise. 

At the return of peace, Astoria, with the adjacent country, 
reverted to the United States by the treaty of Ghent, on the 
principle of status ante helium^ and Captain Biddle was dispatched 
in the sloop of war Ontario, to take formal repossession. 

In the winter of 1815, a law was passed by Congress prohibit- 
ing all traffic of British traders within the territories of the 
United States. 

The favorable moment seemed now to Mr. Astor to have 
arrived for the revival of his favorite enterprise, but new diffi 
culties had grown up to impede it. The Northwest Company 
were now in complete occupation of the Columbia River, and its 
chief tributary streams, holding the posts which he had estab- 
lished, and carrying on a trade throughout the neighboring 
region, in defiance of the prohibitory law of Congress, which, in 
effect, was a. dead letter beyond the mountains. 

To dispossess them, would be an undertaking of almost a 
belligerent nature ; for their agents and retainers were well 
armed, and skilled in the use of weapons, as is usual with Indian 
traders. The ferocious and bloody contests which had taken 
place between the rival trading parties of the Northwest and 
Hudson's Bay Companies, had shown what might be expected 
from commercial feuds in the lawless depths of the wilderness. 
Mr. Astor did not think it advisable, therefore, to attempt the 
matter without the protection of the American flag ; under which 
his people might rally in case of need. He accordingly made an 
informal overture to the President of the United States, Mr. 
Madison, through Mr. Gallatin, offering to renew his enterprise, 
and to re-establish Astoria, provided it would be protected by the 
American flag, and made a military post ; stating that the whole 
force required would not exceed a lieutenant's command. 



NEGOTIATIONS RESPECTING ASTORIA. 497 



The application, approved and recommended by Mr. Gallatin, 
one of the most enlightened statesmen of our country, was favora- 
bly received, but no step was taken in consequence ; the President 
not being disposed, in all probability, to commit himself by any 
direct countenance or overt act. Discouraged by this supineness 
on the part of the government, Mr. Astor did not think fit to 
renew his overtures in a more formal manner, and the favorable 
moment for the re-occupation of Astoria was sufi"ered to pass un- 
improved. 

The British trading establishments were thus enabled, with- 
out molestation, to strike deep their roots, and extend their rami- 
fications, in despite of the prohibition of Congress, until they had 
spread themselves over the rich field of enterprise opened by Mr, 
Astor. The British government soon began to perceive the im- 
portance of this region, and to desire to include it within their 
territorial domains. A question has consequently risen as to the 
right to the soil, and has become one of the most perplexing now 
open between the United States and Great Britian. In the first 
treaty relative to it, under date of October 20th, 1818, the ques- 
tion was left unsettled, and it was agreed that the country on the 
northwest coast of America, westward of the Rocky Moitntains, 
claimed by either nation, should be open to the inhabitants of 
both for ten years, for the purposes of trade, with the equal right 
of navigating all its rivers. When these ten years had expired, a 
subsequent treaty, in 1828, extended the arrangement to ten addi- 
tional years. So the matter stands at present. 

On casting back our eyes over the series of events we have 
recorded, we see no reason to attribute the failure of this great 
commercial undertaking to any fault in the scheme, or omission 
in the execution of it, on the part of the projector. It was a 
magnificent enterprise : well concerted and carried on, without 
regard to difficulties or expense. A succession of adverse 



498 ASTORIA. 

circumstances and cross purposes, however, beset it almost from 
tlie outset ; some of them, in fact, arising from neglect of the 
orders and instructions of Mr. Astor. The first crippling blow 
was the loss of the Tonquin, which clearly would not have 
happened, had Mr. Astor's earnest injunctions with regard to 
the natives been attended to. Had this ship performed her 
voyage prosperously, and revisited Astoria in due time, the trade 
of the establishment would have taken its preconcerted course, 
and the spirits of all concerned been kept up by a confident 
prospect of success. Her dismal catastrophe struck a chill into 
every heart, and prepared the way for subsequent despondency. 

Another cause of embarrassment and loss was the departure 
from the plan of Mr. Astor, as to the voyage of the Beaver, 
subsequent to her visiting Astoria. The variation from this 
plan produced a series of cross purposes, disastrous to the 
establishment, and detained Mr. Hunt absent from his post, 
when his presence there was of vital importance to the enterprise ; 
so essential is it for an agent, in any great and complicated 
undertaking, to execute faithfully, and to the letter, the part 
marked out for him by the master mind which has concerted the 
whole. 

The breaking out of the war between the United States and 
Great Britain, multiplied the hazards and embarrassments of the 
enterprise. The disappointment as to convoy, rendered it diffi- 
cult to keep up reinforcements and supplies ; and the loss of the 
Lark added to the tissue of misadventures. 

That Mr. Astor battled resolutely against every difficulty, 
and pursued his course in defiance of every loss, has been suffi- 
ciently shown. Had he been seconded by suitable agents, and 
properly protected by government, the ultimate failure of his plan 
might yet have been averted. It was his great misfortune, that 
his agents were not imbued with his own spirit. Some had not 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 499 



capacity sufficient to comprehend the real nature and extent of 
his scheme ; others were alien in feeling and interest, and had 
been brought up in the service of a rival company. Whatever 
sympathies they might originally have had with him, were 
impaired, if not destroyed, by the war. They looked upon his 
cause as desperate, and only considered how they might make 
interest to regain a situation under their former employers. The 
absence of Mr. Hunt, the only real representative of Mr. Astor, 
at the time of the capitulation with the Northwest Company, 
completed the series of cross purposes. Had that gentleman 
been present, the transfer, in all probability, would not have 
taken place. 

It is painful, at all times, to see a grand and beneficial stroke 
of genius fail of its aim : but we regret the failure of this enter- 
prise in a national point of view ; for, had it been crowned with 
success, it would have redounded greatly to the advantage and 
extension of our commerce. The profits drawn from the country 
in question by the British Fur Company, though of ample 
amount, form no criterion by which to judge of the advantages 
that would have arisen had it been entirely in the hands of the 
citizens of the United States. That company, as has been shown, 
is limited in the nature and scope of its operations, and can make 
but little use of the maritime facilities held out by an emporium 
and a harbor on that coast. In our hands, besides the roving 
hands of trappers and traders, the country would have been 
explored and settled by industrious husbandmen ; and the fertile 
valleys bordering its rivers, and shut up among its mountains, 
would have been made to pour forth their agricultural treasures 
to contribute to the general wealth. 

In respect to commerce, we should have had a line of trading 
posts from the Mississippi and the Missouri across the Rocky 
Mountains, forming a high road from the great regions of the 



500 ASTORIA. 

west to the aliores of the Pacific. We should have had a fortified 
post and port at the mouth of the Columbia, commanding the 
trade of that river and its tributaries, and of a wide extent of 
country and sea-coast ; carrying on an active and profitable 
commerce with the Sandwich Islands, and a direct and frequent 
communication with China. In a word, Astoria might have 
realized the anticipations of Mr. Astor, so well understood and 
appreciated by Mr. Jefferson, in gradually becoming a commer- 
cial empire beyond the mountains, peopled by "free and inde- 
pendent Americans, and linked with us by ties of blood and 
interest." 

We repeat, therefore, our sincere regret, that our government 
should have neglected the overture of Mr. Astor, and suffered 
the moment to pass by, when full possession of this region might 
have been taken quietly, as a matter of course, and a military 
post established, without dispute, at Astoria. Our statesmen 
have become sensible, when too late, of the importance of this 
measure... Bills have repeatedly been brought into Congress for 
the purpose, but without success ; and our rightful possessions 
on that coast, as well as our trade on the Pacific, have no rally- 
ing point protected by the national flag, and by a military force. 

In the meantime, the second period of ten years is fast 
elapsing. In 1838, the question of title will again come up, and 
most probably, in the present amicable state of our relations 
with Great Britain, will be again postponed. Every year, 
however, the litigated claim is growing in importance. There is 
no pride so jealous and irritable as the pride of territory. As 
one wave of emigration after another rolls into the vast regions 
of^the west, and our settlements stretch towards the Rocky 
Mountains, the eager eyes of our pioneers will pry beyond, and 
they will become impatient of any barrier or impediment in the 
way of what they consider a grand outlet of our empire. Should 



CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS. 501 



any circumstance, therefore, unfortunately occur to disturb the 
present harmony of the two nations, this ill-adjusted question, 
which now lies dormant, may suddenly start up into one of belli- 
gerent import, and Astoria become the watchword in a contest 
for dominion on the shores of the Pacific. 



Since the above was written, the question of dominion over 
the vast territory beyond the Rocky Mountains, which for a time 
threatened to disturb the peaceful relations with our transatlan- 
tic kindred, has been finally settled in a spirit of mutual conces- 
sion, and the venerable projector whose early enterprise forms 
the subject of this work had the satisfaction of knowing, ere his 
eyes closed upon the world, that the flag of his country again 
waved over " Astoria." 



APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX. 



Draught of a petition to Congress, sent hy Mr. Aster in 1812. 

To the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 

States, in Congress assembled. 
The petition of the American Fur Company respectfully showeth : 

That the trade with the several Indian tribes of North America, has, for 
many years past, been almost exclusively carried on by the merchants of 
Canada ; who, having formed powerful and extensive associations for that 
purpose, being aided by British capital, and being encouraged by the favor and 
protection of the British government, could not be opposed, with any prospect 
of success by individuals of the United States. 

That by means of the above trade, thus systematically pursued, not only 
the inhabitants of the United States have been deprived of commercial profits 
and advantages, to which they appear to have just and natural pretensions, 
but a great and dangerous influence has been established over the Indian 
tribes, difficult to be counteracted, and capable of being exerted at critical 
periods, to the great injury and annoyance of our frontier settlements. 

That in order to obtain at least a part of the above trade, and more 
particularly that which is within the boundaries of the United States, your 
petitioners, in the year 1808, obtained an act of incorporation from the State 
of New- York, whereby they are enabled, with a competent capital, to carry 
on the said trade with the Indians in such manner as may be conformable to 
the laws and regulations of the United States, in relation to such commerce. 

That the capital mentioned in the said act, amounting to one million of 
dollars, having been duly formed, your petitioners entered with zeal and 
alacrity into those large and important arrangements, which were necessary 
for, or conducive to, the object of their incorporation ; and, among other tilings, 
purchased a great part of the stock in trade, and trading establishments, of 
the MichilLmackinac Company of Canada. — Your petitioners also, with the 
expectation of great public and private idvantage from the use of the said 
establishments, ordered, during the spr:-^ and summer of 1810, an assort- 
tnent of goods from England, suitable for the Indian trade ; which, in con- 

22 



506 APPENDIX. 



sequence of the President's proclamation of November of that year, were 
shipped to Canada instead of New-York, and have been transported, under a 
very heavy expense, into the interior of the country. But as they could not 
legally be brought into the Indian country within the boundaries of the United 
States, they have been stored on the Island of St. Joseph, in Lake Huron, 
where they now remain. 

Your petitioners, witli gieat deference and implicit submission to the 
wisdom of the national legislature, beg leave to suggest for consideration, 
whether they have not some claim to national attention and encouragement, 
from the nature and importance of their undertaking ; which though hazardous 
and uncertain as it concerns their private emolument, must, at any rate, 
redound to the public security and advantage. If their undertaking shall 
appear to be of the description given, they would further suggest to your 
honorable bodies, that unless they can procure a regular supply for the trade in 
which they are engaged, it may languish, and be finally abandoned by 
American citizens ; when it will revert to its former channel, with additional, 
and perhaps with irresistible, power. 

Under these circumstances, and upon all those considerations of public 
policy which will present themselves to your honorable bodies, in coimection 
with those already mentioned, your petitioners respectfully pray that a law 
may be passed to enable the President, or any of the heads of departments 
acting under his authority, to grant permits for the introduction of goods 
necessary for the supply of the Indians, into the Indian country that is within 
the bomidaries of the United States, under such regulations, and with such 
restrictions, as may secure the public revenue and promote the public welfare. 

And your petitioners shall ever pray, &c. 
In witness whereof, the common seal of the American Fur Company is here- 
unto affixed, the day of MJirch, 1812. 
By order of the Corporation. 



AN ACT to enable the American Fur Company, and other citizens, to 
introduce goods necessary for the Indian trade into the territories within 
the boundaries of the United States. 

Whereas, the public peace and welfare require that the native Indian tribes, 
residing within the boundaries of the United States, should receive their 
necessary supplies under the authority and from the citizens of the United 
States : Therefore, be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States, in Congress assembled, that it shall be lawful for the 
President of the United States, or any of the heads of departments thereunto 
by him duly authorized, from tune to time to grant permits to the American 
Fur Company, their agents or factors, or any other citizens of the United 



APPENDIX. 507 



States engaged in the Indian trade, to introduce into the Indian country, 
within the bourdaries of the United States, such goods, wares, and merchan- 
dise, as may be necessary for the said trade, under such regulations and 
restrictions as the said President or heads of departments may judge proper ; 
any law or regulation to the contrary, in anywise, notwithstanding. 



Letter from Mr. Gallatin to Mr. Astor, dated 

New- Yoke, August 5, 1835. 

Dear Sir, — In compliance with your request, I will state such facts as I 
recollect touching the subjects mentioned in your letter of 28th ult. I may be 
mistaken respecting dates and details, and will only relate general facts, 
which I well remember. 

In conformity with the treaty of 1794 with Great Britain, the citizens and 
Bubjects of each country were permitted to trade with the Indians residing in 
the territories of the other party. The reciprocity was altogether nominal. 
Since the conquest of Canada, the British had inherited from the French the 
whole fur trade, through the great lakes and their communications, with all 
the western Indians, whether residing in the British dominions or the United 
States. They kept the important western posts on those lakes till about the 
year 1797. And the defensive Indian war, which the United States had to 
sustain from 1776 to 1795, had still more alienated the Indians, and secured 
to the British their exclusive trade, carried through the lakes, wherever the 
Indians in that quarter lived. No American could, without imminent danger 
of property and life, carry on that trade, even within the United States, by 
the way of either Michilimackinac or St. Mary's. And independent of the 
loss of commerce. Great Britain was enabled to preserve a most dangerous 
influence over our Indians. 

It was under these circumstances that you communicated to our govern- 
ment the prospect you had to be able, and your intention, to purchase one 
half of the interest of the Canadian Fur Company, engaged in trade by the 
way of Michilimackinac with our own Indians. You wished to know 
whether the plan met with the approbation of government, and how far you 
could rely on its protection and encouragement. This overture was received 
with great satisfaction by the administration, and Mr. Jefferson, then president, 
wrote you to that effect. I was also directed, as secretary of the treasury, to 
write to you an official letter to the same purpose. On investigating the 
rubject, it was found that the Executive had no authority to give you any 
direct aid ; and I believe that you received nothing more than an entire 



508 APPENDIX. 



approbation of your plan, and general assurances of the protection due to every 
citizen engaged in lawful and useful pursuits. 

You did effect the contemplated purchase, but in what year I do not recol- 
lect. Immediately before the war, you represented that a large quantity of 
merchandise, intended for the Indian trade, and including arms and munitions 
of war, belonging to that concern of which you owned one half, wa? 
deposited at a post on Lake Huron, within the British dominions ; that, in 
order to prevent their ultimately fallmg into the hands of Lidians who might 
prove hostile, you were desirous to try to have them conveyed into the United 
States ; but that you were prevented by the then existing law of noninter- 
coures with the British dominions. 

The Executive could not annul the provisions of that law. But I was 
directed to instruct the collectors on the lakes, in case you or your agents 
should voluntarily bring in and deliver to them any parts of the goods above 
mentioned, to receive and keep them in their guard, and not to commence 
prosecutions until further instructions : the intention being then to apply to 
Congress for an act remitting the forfeiture and penalties. I wrote accordingly, 
to that effect, to the collectors of Detroit and Michilimackinac. 

The attempt to obtain the goods did not, however, succeed ; and I cannot 
say how far the failure mjured you. But the war proved fatal to another much 
more extensive and important enterprise. 

Previous to that time, but I also forget the year, you had undertaken to 
carry on a trade on your own account, though I believe under the New-York 
charter of the American Fur Company, with the Indians west of the Rocky 
Mountains. This project was also communicated to government, and met, 
of course, with its full approbation, and best wishes, for your success. You 
carried it on, on the most extensive scale, sending several ships to the mouth 
of the Columbia River, and a large party by land across the mountains, and 
finally founding the estabUshment of Astoria. 

This unfortunately fell into the hands of the enemy during the war, from 
circumstances with which I am but unperfectly acquainted — being then 
absent on a foreign mission. I returned in September, 1815, and sailed 
again on a mission to France in June, 1816. During that period I visited 
Washington twice — in October or November, 1815, and in March, 1816. On 
one of these two occasions, and I believe on the last, you mentioned to me 
that you were disposed once more to renew the attempt, and to re-establish 
Astoria, provided you had the protection of the American flag ; for which 
purpose, a Ueutenant's command would be sufficient to you. You requested 
me to mention this to the President, which I did. Mr. Madison said he 
would consider the subject, and, although he did not commit hunself, I thought 
that he received the proposal favorably. The message was verbal, and I do 
not Imow whether the application was ever renewed in a more formal manner. 



APPENDIX. 509 



r sailed soon after for Europe, and was seven years absent. I never had the 
pleasure, since 1816, to see Mr. Madison, and never heard again any tiling 
concerning the subject in question. 

I remain, dear sir, most respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

ALBERT GALLATIN. 
John Jacob Astor, Esq., ^ 

New- York. 



Notices of the present state of the Fur Trade, chiefly extracted 
from an article published in SilUman's Journal for January, 
1834. 

The Northwest Company did not long enjoy the sway they had acquired 
over the trading regions of the Columbia. A competition, ruinous in its 
expenses, which had long existed between them and the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany, ended in their downfall and the ruin of most of the partners. The relics 
of the company became merged in the rival association, and the whole business 
was conducted under the name of the Hudson's Bay Company. 

This coahtion took place in 1821. They then abandoned Astoria, and 
built a large establishment sixty miles up the river, on the right bank, which 
they called Fort Vancouver. This was in a neighborhood where provisions 
could be more readily procured, and where there was less danger from 
molestation by any naval force. The company are said to carry on an active 
and prosperous trade, and to give great encouragement to settlers. They are 
extremely jealous, however, of any interference or participation in their trade, 
and monopolize it from the coast of the Pacific to the mountains, and for 
a considerable extent north and south. The American traders and trappers 
who venture across the mountains, instead of enjoying the participation in 
the trade of the river and its tributaries, that had been stipulated by treaty, 
are obliged to keep to the south, out of the track of the Hudson's Bay 
parties. 

Mr. Astor has withdrawn entirely from the American Fur Company, as 
he has, in fact, from active business of every kind. That company is new 
headed by Mr. Ramsay Crooks; its principal establishment is at Michih- 
mackinac, and it receives its furs from the posts depending on that station, 
and from those on the Mississippi, Missouri, and Yellow Stone Rivers, and 
the great range of country extending thence to the Rocky Mountahis. This 
company has steamboats in its employ, with which it ascends the rivers, and 
penetrates to a vast distance into the bosom of those regions formerly so 



510 APPENDIX. 



painfully explored in keel-boats and barges, or by weary parties on horseback 
and on foot. The first irruption of steamboats into the heart of these vast 
wildernesses is said to have caused the utmost astonishment and affright among 
their savage inhabitants. 

In addition to the main companies already mentioned, minor associadons 
have been formed, wliich push their way in the most intrepid manner to the 
remote parts of the far West, and beyond the mountain barriers. One of the 
most noted of these is Ashley's company, from St. Louis, who trap for them- 
selves, and drive an extensive trade with the Indians. The spirit, enterprise, 
and hardihood of Ashley, are themes of the highest eulogy in the far West, 
and his adventures and exploits furnish abundance of frontier stories. 

Another company of one hundred and fifty persons from New- York, 
formed in 1831, and headed by Captain Bonneville of the United States army^' 
has pushed its enterprises into tracts before but little known, and has brought 
considerable quantities of furs from the region between the Rocky Mountains 
and the coasts of Monterey and Upper California, on the Buenaventura and 
Timpanogos Rivers. 

The fur countries, from the Pacific, east to the Rocky Mountains, are 
now occupied (exclusive of private combinations and individual trappers and 
traders) by the Russians ; and on the northwest, from Behring's Strait to 
Queen Charlotte's Island, in north latitude fifty-three degrees, and by the 
Hudson's Bay Company thence , south of the Columbia River ; while Ashley's 
company, and that under Captain Bonneville, take the remainder of the 
region to California. Indeed, the whole compass from the Mississippi to the 
Pacific Ocean is traversed in every direction. The mountains and forests, 
from the Arctic Sea to the Gulf of Mexico, are threaded, through every maze, 
by the hunter. Every river and tributary stream, from the Columbia to the 
mouth of the Rio del Norte, and from the M'Kenzie to the Colorado of the 
West, from their head springs to their junction, are searched and trapped for 
beaver. Almost all the American fiirs, which do not belong to the Hudson's 
Bay Company, find their way to New-York, and are either distributed thence 
for home consumption, or sent to foreign markets. 

The Hudson's Bay Company ship their fiirs from their factories of York 
Fort and from Moose River, on Hudson's Bay ; their collection from Grand 
River, &c., they ship from Canada ; and the collection from Columbia goes 
to London. None of their furs come to the United States, except through vhe 
London market. 

The export trade of furs from the United States is chiefly to London. 
Some quantities have been sent to Canton, and some few to Hamburgh ; 
and an mcreasing export trade in beaver, otter, nutria, and vicunia wool, 
prepared for the hatter's use, is carried on in Mexico. Some fiirs are exported 
from Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Boston ; but the principal shipments from 
the United States are from New-York to London, from whence they are sent 



APPENDIX. 511 



to Leipsic, a well-known mart for furs, where they are disposed of duiing 
the great fair in that city, and distributed to every part of the continent. 

The United States import from South America, nutria, vicunia, chinchilla, 
and a few deer skins ; also fur seals from the Lobos Islands, off the river 
Plate. A quantity of beaver, otter, &c., are brought annually from Santa 
Fe. Dressed furs for edgings, linings, caps, muffs, &c., such as squirrel, 
genet, fitch skins, and blue rabbit, are received from the north of Europe ; 
also coney and hare's fur ; but the largest importations are from London, 
WJiere is concentrated nearly the whole of the North American fur trade. 

Such is the present state of the fur trade, by which it will appear that the 
extended sway of the Hudson's Bay Company, and its monopoly of the region 
of which Astoria was the key, has operated to turn the main current of this 
opulent trade into the coffers of Great Britain, and to render London the 
emporimn instead of New-York, as Mr. Astor had intended. 

We will subjoin a few observations on the animals sought after in this 
traffic, extracted from the same intelligent source with the preceding remarks. 

Of the fur-hearing animals, " the precious ermine," so called by way of 
pre-eminence, is found, of the best quality, only in the cold regions of Europe 
and Asia.* Its fur is of the most perfect whiteness, except the tip of its tail, 
which is of a brilliant shining black. With these black tips tacked on the 
skins, they are beautifully spotted, producing an effect often imitated, but never 
equalled in other furs. The ermine is of the genus mustela, (weasel,) and 
resembles the common weasel in its form ; is from fourteen to sixteen inches 
from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail. The body is from ten to twelve 
inches long. It lives in hollow trees, river banks, and especially in beech 
forests ; preys on small birds, is very shy, sleeping durmg the day, and 
employing the night in search of food. The fur of the older animals is pre- 
ferred to the younger. It is taken by snares and traps, and sometimes shot 
with bhmt arrows. Attempts have been made to domesticate it ; but it is 
extremely wild, Jmd has been found untameable. 

The sable can scarcely be called second to the ermine. It is a native of 
northern Europe and Siberia, and is also of the genus mustela. In Samoieda, 
Yakutsk, Kamschatka, and Russian Lapland, it is found of the richest quality, 
and darkest color. Ilu its habits, it resembles the ermine. It preys on small 
squirrels and birds sleeps by day, and prowls for food during the night. It is 
BO like the marten in every particular except its size, and the dark shade of its 
color, that naturalists have not decided whether it is the richest and finest of 
the marten tribe, or a variety of that species. t It varies in dimensions from 
eighteen to twenty inches. 

* An animal called the stoat, a kind of ermine, is said to be found in North America, but 
very inferior to the European and Asiatic. 

t The finest fur and the darkest color are most esteemed ; and whether the difference arises 
from the age of the animal, or from some peculiarity of location, is not known. They do not 
iraiy more from the common marten than the Arabian horse from the shaggy Canadian. 



512 APPENDIX. 



The rich dark shades of the sable, and the snowy whiteness of the einiine, 
the gr^at depth, and the peculiar, almost flowing softness of their skins and 
fiir, have combined to gain them a preference in all countries, and in all agea 
of the world, in this age, they maintain the same relative estimate in regard 
to other furs, as when they marked the rank of the proud crusader, and were 
emblazoned in heraldry : but in most European nations, they are now worn 
promiscuously by the opulent. 

The martens from Northern Asia and the Mountains of Kamschatka are 
much superior to the American, though in every pack of American marten 
skins there are a certain number which are beautifully shaded, and of a dark 
brown olive color, of great depth and richness. 

Next these in value, for ornament and utility, are the sea otter, the mink, 
and the fiery fox. 

The fiery fox is the bright red of Asia ; is more brilliantly colored and of 
finer fiir than any other of the genus. It is highly valued for the splendor of 
its red color and the fineness of its fur. It is the standard of value on the 
northeastern coast of Asia. 

The sea otter, which was first introduced into commerce in 1725, from the 
Aleutian and Kurile Islands, is an exceedingly fine, soft, close fur, jet black 
in winter, with a silken gloss. The fiir of the young animal is of a beautiful 
brown color. It is met with in great abundance in Bhering's Island, Kam- 
schatka, Aleutian and Fox Islands, and is also taken on the opposite coasts of 
North America. It is sometimes taken with nets, but more frequently with 
clubs and spears. Their food is principally lobster and other shell-fish. 

In 1780 furs had become so scarce in Siberia, that the supply was insufll- 
cient for the demand in the Asiatic countries. It was at this time that the 
sea otter was introduced into the markets for China. The skins brcrtight such 
incredible prices, as to originate immediately several American and British 
expeditions to the northern islands of the Pacific, to Nootka Sonnd, and the 
northwest coast of America ; but the Russians already had possession of the 
tract which they now hold, and had arranged a trade for the sea otter with the 
Koudek tribes. They do not engross the trade, however ; the American 
northwest trading ships procure them, all along the coast, from the Indians. 

At one period, the fur seals formed no inconsiderable item in the trade. 
South Georgia, in south latitude fifty-five degrees, discovered in 1675, was 
explored by Captain Cook in 1771. The Americans immediately commenced 
carrying seal skins thence to China, where they obtained the most exorbitant 
prices. One million two hundred thousand skins have been taken from that 
island alone, and nearly an equal number from the Island of Desolation, since 
they were first resorted to for the pui-pose of commerce. 

The discovery of the South Shetlands, sixty-three degrees south latitude, in 
1818, added surprisingly to the trade in fiir seals. The number taken from 
the South Shetlands in 1821 and 1822 amounted to three hundred and twenty 



APPENDIX. 513 



thousand. This valuable animal is now almost extinct in all these islands, 
owing to the exterminating system adopted by the hunters. They are still 
taken on the Lobos Islands, where the provident government of Montevideo 
restrict the fishery, or hunting, within certain limits, which insures an annual 
return of the seals. At certain seasons these amphibia, for the purpose of 
renewing their coat, come up on the dark frowning rocks and precipices, 
where there is not a trace of vegetation. In the middle of January, the 
islands are partially cleared of snow, where a few patches of short strag- 
gling grass spring up in favorable situations ; but the seals do not resort to 
it for food. They remain on the rocks not less than two months, without 
any sustenance, when they return much emaciated to the sea. 

Bears of various species and colors, many varieties of the fox, the wolf, 
the beaver, the otter, the marten, the racoon, the badger, the wolverine, the 
mink, the lynx, the muskrat, the woodchuck, the rabbit, the hare, and the 
squirrel, are natives of North America. 

The beaver, otter, lynx, fisher, hare, and racoon, are used principally for 
hats ; while the bears of several varieties furnish an excellent material for 
sleigh linings, for cavalry caps, and other military equipments. The fur of 
the black fox is the most valuable of any of the American varieties ; and next 
to that the red, which is exported to China and Smyrna. In China, the 
red is employed for trimmings, Unings, and robes ; the latter being variegated 
by adding the black fur of the paws, in spots or waves. There are many 
other varieties of American fox, such as the gray, the white, the cross, the 
silver, and the dun-colored. The silver fox is a rare animal, a native of 
the woody country below the falls of the Columbia River. It has a long, 
thick, deep lead-colored fur, intermingled with long hairs, invariably white 
at the top, forming a bright lustrous silver gray, esteemed by some more 
beautiful than any other kind of fox. 

The skins of the buffalo, of the Rocky Mountain sheep, of various deer, 
and of the antelope, are included in the fur trade with the Indians and trap- 
pers of the north and west. 

Fox and seal skins are sent from Greenland to Denmark. The white 
fur of the arctic fox and polar bear is sometimes found in the packs brought 
to the traders by the most northern tribes of Indians, but is not particularly 
valuable. The silver-tipped rabbit is peculiar to England, and is sent thence 
to Russia and China. 

Other furs are employed and valued according to the caprices of fashion., 
as well in those countries where they are needed for defences against the 
severity of the seasons, as among the inhabitants of milder climates, who, 
being of Tartar or Sclavonian descent, are said to inherit an attachment to 
furred clothmg, Such are the inhabitants of Poland, of Southern Russia, 
of China, of Persia, of Turkey, and all the nations of Gothic origin in the 
middle and western parts of Europe. Under the burning suns of Syria and 



514 APPENDIX. 



Egypt, and the mild climes of Bucharia and independent Tartary there ia 
also a constant demand, and a great consumption, where there exists no physi- 
cal necessity. In our own temperate latitudes, besides their use in the arts, 
they are in request for ornament and warmth during the winter, and large 
quantities are annually consumed for both purposes in the United States. 

From the foregomg statements, it appears that the fur trade must hence- 
forward decline. The advanced state of geographical science shows that no 
new countries remain to be explored. In North America, the animals are 
slowly decreasing, from the persevering efforts and the indiscriminate slaughter 
practised by the hunters, and by the appropriation to the uses of man of those 
forests and rivers which have afforded them food and protection. They 
recede with the aborigines, before the tide of civilization ; but a diminished 
supply will remain in the mountains and uncultivated tracts of this and other 
countries, if the avidity of the hunter can be restrained within proper lim- 
itations. 



Height of the Rocky Mountains. 

Various estimates have been made of the height of the Rocky Mountains, 
but it is doubtful whether any have, as yet, done justice to their real altitude, 
which promises to place them only second to the highest moimtains of the 
known world. Their height has been duninished to the eye by the great 
elevation of the plains from which they rise. They consist, according to 
Long, of ridges, knobs, and peaks, variously disposed. The more elevated 
parts are covered with perpetual snows, which contribute to give them a 
luminous, and, at a great distance, even a brilliant appearance ; whence they 
derived, among some of the first discoverers, the name of the Shining Moun- 
tains. 

James's Peak has generally been cited as the highest of the chain ; and its 
elevation above the common level has been ascertained, by a trigonometrical 
measurement, to be about eight thousand five hundred feet. Mr. Long, how- 
ever, judged, from the position of the snow near the summits of other peaks 
and ridges at no great distance from it, that they were much higher. Having 
heard Professor Renwick, of New- York, express an opinion of the altitude 
of these mountains far beyond what had usually been ascribed to them, we 
applied to him for the authority on which he grounded his observation, and 
here subjoin his reply : 

Columbia College, New- York, February 23, 1836. 
Dear Sir, — In compUance with your request, I have to communicate 
some facts in relation to the heights of the Rocky Mountains, and the sources 
whence I obtained the information. 



APPENDIX. 515 



In conversation with Simon M'Gillivray, Esq., a partner of the Northwest 
Company, lie stated to me his impression, that the mountains in the vicinity 
of the route pursued by the traders of that company were nearly as high as 
the Himalayas. He had himself crossed by this route, seen the snowy sum- 
mits of the peaks, and experienced a degree of cold which required a spirit 
thermometer to indicate it. His authority for the estimate of the heights was 
a gentleman who had been employed for several years as surveyor of thai 
company. This conversation occurred about sixteen years since. 

A year or two afterwards, I had the pleasure of dining, at Major Dela- 
field's, with Mr. Thompson, the gentleman referred to by Mr. M'Gillivray. 
I inquired of him in relation to the circumstances mentioned by Mr. M'GiJ- 
hvray, and he stated, that, by the joint means of the barometric and trigono- 
metric measurement, he had ascertained the height of one of the peaks to be 
about twenty-five thousand feet, and there were others of nearly the same 
height in the vicinity. 

I am, dear sir, 

Yours truly, 

JAMES RENWICK. 

To W. Irving, Esq. 



Suggestions with respect to the Indian tribes, and the protection of 
our Trade. 

In the course of this work, a few general remarks have been hazarded 
respecting the Indian tribes of the prairies, and the dangers to be apprehended 
from them in future times to our trade beyond the Rocky Mountains and with 
the Spanish frontiers. Since writing those remarks, we have met with some 
excellent observations and suggestions, in manuscript, on the same subject, 
written by Captain Bormeville, of the United States army, who has lately 
returned from a long residence among the tribes of the Rocky Mountains. 
Captain B. approves highly of the plan recently adopted by the United States 
govermnent for the organization of a regiment of dragoons for the protection 
of our western frontier, and the trade across the prairies. " No other species 
of military force," he observes, " is at all competent to cope with these restless 
and wandering hordes, who require to be opposed with swiftness quite as much 
as with strength ; and the consciousness that a troop, uniting these qualifi- 
cations, is always on the alert to avenge their outrages upon the settlers and 
traders, will go very far towards restraining them from the perpetration of 
those thefts and murders which they have heretofore committed with impu- 
nity, whenever stratagem or superiority of force has given them the advantage. 
Their interest already has done something towards their pacification with 



516 APPENDIX. 



our countrjTnen. From the traders among them, they receive their supplies 
m the greatest abundance, and upon very equitable terms ; and when it is 
remembered that a very considerable amount of property is yearly distributed 
among them by the government, as presents, it will readily be perceived 
that they are greatly dependent upon us for their most valued resources. If, 
superadded to this inducement, a frequent display of military power be made 
.n their territories, there can be little doubt that the desired security and peace 
will be speedily afforded to our own people. But the idea of establishing a 
permanent amity and concord amongst the various east and west tribes them- 
selves, seems to me, if not wholly impracticable, at least infinitely more difficult 
than many excellent philanthropists have hoped and believed. Those nations 
which have so lately emigrated from the midst of our settlements to live upon 
our western borders, and have made some progress in agriculture and the 
arts of civilization, have, in the property they have acquired, and the protec- 
tion and aid extended to them, too many advantages to be induced readily to 
take up arms against us, particularly if they can be brought to the full convic- 
tion that their new homes will be permanent and undisturbed ; and there is 
every reason and motive, in policy as well as humanity, for our ameliorating 
their condition by every means in our power. But the case is far different with 
regard to the Osages, the Kanzas, the Pawnees, and other roving hordes 
beyond the frontiers of the settlements. Wild and restless in their character 
and habits, they are by no means so susceptible of control or civilization ; and 
they are urged by strong, and, to them, irresistible causes in their situation and 
necessities, to the daily perpetration of violence and fraud. Their permanent 
subsistence, for example, is derived from the buffalo hunting grounds, which 
lie a great distance from their towns. Twice a year they are obliged to make 
long and dangerous expeditions, to procure the necessary provisions for them- 
selves and their families. For this purpose horses are absolutely requisite, for 
their own comfort and safety, as well as for the transportation of their food, 
and their little stock of valuables ; and without them they would be reduced 
during a great portion of the year, to a state of abject misery and privation. 
They haw no brood mares, nor any trade sufficiently valuable to supply their 
yearly losses, and endeavor to keep up their stock by stealing horses from 
the other tribes to the west and southwest. Our own people, and the tribes 
immediately upon our borders, may indeed be protected from their depreda- 
tions ; and the Kanzas, Osages, Pawnees, and others, may be induced to 
remain at peace among themselves, so long as they are permitted to pursue 
the old custom of levying upon the Camanches and other remote nations 
for their complement of steeds for the warriors, and pack-horses for their trans- 
portations to and from the hunting ground. But the instant they are forced 
to maintain a peaceful and inoffensive demeanor towards the tribes along 
the Mexican border, and find that every violation of their rights is followed 
by tlie avenging arm of our government, the result must be, that, reduced to a 



APPENDIX. 517 



wretchedness and want which they can ill brook, and feeUng the certainty 
of punishment for every attempt to ameliorate their condition in the only 
way they as yet comprehend, they will abandon their unfruitful territory 
and remove to the neighborhood of the Mexican lands, and there carry on 
a vigorous predatory warfare indiscriminately upon the Mexicans and our 
own people trading or travelling in that quarter. 

" The Indians of the prairies are almost innumenble. Their superior 
horsemanship, which, in my opinion, far exceeds that of any other people 
on the face of the earth, their daring bravery, their cunning and skill in 
the warfare of the wilderness, and the astonishing rapidity and secrecy with 
which they are accustomed to move in their martial expeditions, will always 
render them most dangerous and vexatious neighbors, when their necessities 
Gx their discontents may drive them to hostility with our frontiers. Their 
mode and principles of warfare will always protect them from final and irre- 
trievable defeat, and secure their families from participating in any blow, 
however severe, which our retribution might deal out to them. 

" The Camanches lay the Mexicans under contribution for horses and 
mules, which they are always engaged in stealing from them in incredible 
numbers ; and from the Camanches, all the roving tribes of the far West, by 
a similar exertion of skill and daring, supply themselves in turn. It seems 
to me, therefore, under all these circumstances, that the apparent futility of 
any philanthropic schemes for the benefit of these nations, and a regard for 
our own protection, concur in recommending that we remain satisfied with 
maintaining peace upon our own immediate borders, and leave the Mexicans 
and the Camanches, and all the tribes hostile to these last, to settle their 
differences and difficulties in their own way. 

" In order to give full security and protection to our trading parties circu- 
lating in all directions through the great prairies, I am under the impression, 
that a few judicious measures on the part of the government, involving a 
very limited expense, would be sufficient. And, in attaining this end, which 
of itself has already become an object of public interest and import, another, 
of much greater consequence, might be brought about, viz., the securing to 
the States a most valuable and increasing trade, now carried on by caravans 
directly to Santa Fe. 

" As to the first desideratum : the Indians can only be made to respect the 
lives and property of the American parties, by rendering them dependent upon 
us for their supplies ; which can alone be done with complete effect by the 
establishment of a trading post, with resident traders, at some point which 
will unite a sufficient number of advantages to attract the several tribes to 
itself, in preference to their present places of resort for that purpose ; for it 
is a well-known fact, that the Indians will always protect their trader, and 
those in whom he is interested, so long as they derive benefits from liim. 
The alternative presented to those at the north, by the residence of the agents 



518 APPENDIX. 



of the Hudson's Bay Company amongst them, renders the condition of out 
people in that quarter less secure ; but I think it will appear, at once, upon 
the most cursory examination, that no such opposition further south could be 
maintained, so as to. weaken the benefits of such an establishment as is here 
suggested. 

" In considering this matter, the first question wliich presents itself is, where 
do these tribes now make their exchanges, and obtain their necessary supplies? 
They resort almost exclusively to the Mexicans, who, themselves, purchase 
from us whatever the Indians most seek for. In this point of view, therefore, 
ccBteris paribus, it would be an easy matter for us to monopolize the whole 
traffic. All that is wanting is some location more convenient for the natives 
than that offered by the Mexicans, to give us the imdisputed superiority ; and 
the selection of such a point requires but a knowledge of the single fact, that 
these nations invariably winter upon the head waters of the Arkansas, and 
there prepare all their buflfalo robes for trade. These robes are heavy, and, 
to the Indian, very difficult of transportation. Nothing but necessity induces 
them to travel any great distance with such inconvenient baggage. A post, 
therefore, established upon the head waters of the Arkansas, must infallibly 
secure an uncontested preference over that of the Mexicans, even at their 
prices and rates of barter. Then let the dragoons occasionally move about 
among these people in large parties, impressing them with the proper estimate 
of our power to protect and to punish, and at once we have complete and 
assured security for all citizens whose enterprise may lead them beyond the 
border, and an end to the outrages and depredations which now dog the 
footsteps of the traveller in the prairies, and arrest and depress the most 
advantageous commerce. Such a post need not be stronger than fifty men ; 
twenty-five to be employed as hunters, to supply the garrison, and the residue 
as a defence against any hostility. Situated here upon the good lands of the 
Arkansas, in the midst of abundance of timber, while it might be kept up at 
a most inconsiderable expense, such an establishment within ninety miles of 
Santa F^ or Taos would be more than justified by the other and more impor- 
tant advantages before alluded to, leaving the protection of the traders with 
the Indian tribes entirely out of the question. 

" This great trade, carried on by caravans to Santa F6, annually loads one 
hundred wagons with merchandise, which is bartered in the northern provinces 
or Mexico for cash and for beaver furs. The numerous articles excluded as 
contraband, and the exorbitant duties laid upon all those that are admitted by 
the Mexican government, present so many obstacles to commerce, that I am 
well persuaded, that if a post, such as is here suggested, should be established 
on the Arkansas, it would become the place of deposite, not only for the 
present trade, but for one infinitely more extended. Here the Mexicans might 
purchase their supplies, and might well afford to sell them at prices which 
would silence all competition from any other quarter. 



APPENDIX. 519 



" These two trades, with the Mexicans and the Indians, centering at this 
post, would give rise to a large village of traders and laborers, and would 
undoubtedly be hailed, by all that section of country, as a permanent and 
Invaluable advantage. A few pack-horses would carry all the clothing and 
ammunition necessary for the post during the first year, and two light field- 
pieces would be all the artillery required for its defence. Afterwards, all thn 
horses required for the use of the establishment might be purchased from the 
Mexicans at the low price of ten dollars each ; and, at the same time, what- 
ever animals might be needed to supply the losses among the dragoons trav- 
ersing the neighborhood, could be readily procured. The Upper Missouri 
Indians can fiirnish horses, at very cheap rates, to any number of the same 
troops who might be detailed for the defence of the northern frontier ; and, in 
other respects, a very limited outlay of money would suffice to maintain a post 
in that section of the country. 

" From these considerations, and my own personal observation, I am, 
therefore, disposed to believe, that two posts established by the government, 
one at the mouth of the Yellow Stone River, and one on the Arkansas, would 
completely protect all our people in every section of the great wilderness of 
the West ; while other advantages, at least with regard to one of them, con- 
firm and urge the suggestion. A fort at the mouth of Yellow Stone, garrisoned 
by fifty men, would be perfectly safe. The establishment might be constructed 
simply with a view to the stores, stables for the dragoons' horses, and quarters 
for the regular garrison ; the rest being provided with sheds or lodges, erected 
ill the vicinity, for their residence during the winter months." 



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